Bhatti: Will focus on women's safety

CHANDIGARH: Expect the AAP campaign under Savita Bhatti, the Lok Sabha candidate representing the city, to be a blend of theatrical entertainment and a crusade against corruption. In her first public interaction after selection as AAP's LS candidate, late comedian-actor Jaspal Bhatti's widow Savita divulged that she will focus on women safety and raise her voice against the VIP culture in the city."You will not see me as a VIP with gun-trotting security around. I have been working with my husband since the last three decades on social issues," she said.
Besides, women safety issue and shunning of VIP culture, her party would also take up the issue of colony rehabilitation. "I am not a politician with readymade answers. And we will not segregate any issue or area for campaigning," she added.
Talking about countering her opponents in the forthcoming polls, she said, "We will not individualize the fight. What others are doing is not our concern as we will be taking up the issues without contradicting others."
On her new role as a politician and at the same time mocking the system, she said, "I will never be a politician. I am a commoner and will continue to fight for the city residents just like my husband had been doing since so many years." On making the campaign different from the usual slogan-raising, Savita said, "We will fuse it with entertainment as this medium to bring us closer to the residents here."
The party had selected Sector 17 plaza as the place for public and media interaction as they wanted to be closest to the mass. "Our primary focus would be on slum dwellers and rehabilitation of colonies, which had been ransacked," said Rajeev Godara, central observer, Chandigarh, AAP.
Meanwhile, some residents said they are not nurturing great hopes from the party. "I have no hope in any party. All these are gimmicks and no one has so far worked for our cause. We have seen the AAP as a flop show in Delhi after Kejriwal became the CM. It will be the same thing here," said Parveen Randhawa, a homemaker from Manimajra.
However, Savita Bhatti's popularity in the city could salvage some the lost ground, some residents feel. "Anyone with true motivation can bring about a change in the system. I am hopeful about AAP under Savita and can relate to her closely. We have watched her at TV shows and roaming around in the city doing social work," said Ranjot Kaur, a student of SGGS, Sector 26.
If there is any threat to the goodwill, it comes from within AAP ranks, say residents. They are of the view that skepticism cannot be helped considering the track record of the party. "They are a non-cohesive party. None of them know how to work as there are conflicts within them. We have watched their system of working at the national level. There is a lot of difference in what they speak and what they do, said a disillusioned Manmeet Singh, an automobile engineer from Sector 44.