It’s philanthropy not politics

i've no intention of returning to politics in any capacity. i don't canvas for any party, nor do i attend political functions. true, some of my friends are politicians. but i also have journalists as friends. does that mean i'm going to edit a newspaper? even when i gave up active politics, i had said i'd never return to politics. i say it once again.i'm certainly not canvassing for the samajwadi party. i've no idea who or where this rumour started from. on the request of amar singh i'm going to distribute vehicles and jaipur feet to the physically disabled at two places in uttar pradesh. that's it. after leaving politics, i had said i would never return. and since then, i've never done anything to the contrary. i've no intention of returning to politics in any capacity. i don't canvas for any party, nor do i attend political functions. true, some of my friends are politicians. but i also have journalists as friends. does that mean i'm going to edit a newspaper? i've attended functions organised by politicians like amar singh and mulayam singh from the samajwadi party. at the same time, i've also attended functions organised by the shiv sena, the bjp and the congress. to read meanings into my innocuous attendance is not right. a lot was made of my presence in allahabad earlier this year. seven generations of my family have lived there and i was born and brought up there. i went there for a civic reception organised by the samajwadi party. the mayor of allahabad happened to be a member of the party, so my presence was construed as a political manoeuvre. but i didn't make a single political statement at the function. there's a commitment from the mayor of allahabad to open a girls' school in my name. if my celebrity status can help the common man, then i'm very happy to be one. this was my first visit to the city after i resigned from politics. i asked the people to forgive me for not completing my tenure and not keeping my promises. even after leaving politics, i did try to continue with my philanthropic work. for example, i set up a small charitable fund called 'nirmaan' during my tenure as an mp. it ran mobile hospitals in rural areas. but the endeavour was criticised for being run on black money earned from films. the assumption was totally wrong. but the damage was done. nirmaan had a legal board and a chartered accountancy firm looking after its accounts. i was very hurt with the criticism of my good work. the fact that my innocent visits to uttar pradesh are misconstrued as political ambition doesn't bother me much. what's sad is when an endeavour to help the under-privileged goes down the drain for purely selfish reasons. however, i'm always there for the people of allahabad. let me reiterate once again, i'm not canvassing for any political party. if mulayam singh and amar singh, who are like my brothers, invite me to attend a function, i see no reason to say no. but that doesn't mean i'm returning to politics. i've told amar singh that i won't join politics. at the same time, if he asks me to do something for him, i won't be able to say no. but i also know that he would never want to embarrass me. (amitabh bachchan spoke to subhash k. jha)