Aamir Khan rules out political foray, says duty-bound for nation

Aamir Khan

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan yesterday dismissed the possibility of joining politics. He said people like him who are working in the creative fields have a major responsibility towards nation building and making the "social fabric" strong. Khan was addressing a press conference after attending an event organised by his 'Paani Foundation' to declare the 'Watercup' awards. Political leaders cutting across the party lines attended the award distribution ceremony held in Pune in Maharashtra. Paani Foundation is a not-for-profit company set up in 2016 by the team of the TV series Satyamev Jayate to fight drought in rural Maharashtra. It was founded by Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao.

Paani Foundation conducts a competition called the 'Satyamev Jayate Water Cup', in which villages compete to win prizes for the best watershed management work. Responding to a query on whether he would enter politics if he is offered a Rajya Sabha berth for his social work, the "Dangal" star replied, "We are currently doing a lot of work and I think to do that work, there is no need to enter into politics.

"I am working in the creative field and people in this field have a major responsibility towards nation building and making the social fabric of the society strong," he said. About expanding the scope of the watershed movement, Khan said instead of going larger, the foundation will try go deeper. "Currently, 75 tehsils have been covered under the watershed movement. We would like to go deeper rather going larger," he said. The actor said they would now focus on areas like the soil health, grass land, crop planning and tree plantation.

"We would conduct parallel competition for the villages where the watershed movement has already been done and we will give them training on the soil health, crop planning, tree plantation and grass land," he said. Khan said Paani Foundation has plans to go to urban areas to work on water harvesting projects. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis, state unit Congress chief Ashok Chavan, Opposition leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, NCP leader Ajit Pawar, state ministers Ram Shinde and Vijay Shivtare attended the award distribution programme.

The first prize of Rs 75 lakh and a trophy for the Water Cup 2018 competition was won by Takewadi (Andhali) village in Satara district. Bhandwali and Sindkhed villages in Satara and Buldhana districts jointly won the second prize of Rs 50 lakh and a trophy. The third prize went to Anandwadi and Umtha villages in Beed and Nagpur districts. It carried a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh each and a trophy.

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