I do not endorse marriage: Kangana Ranaut

Kangana Ranaut, who is waiting for the release of her next film, 'Queen', says that for a change she plays a simple girl in the Vikas Bahl film.

“I play a simple girl, Rani, who is not very confident. Though I play a behenji, Vikas did not want me to wear a salwar kameez in the beginning and then turn to wearing mini dresses. Rani is the same from the beginning to the end but a few incidents change her from within,” says Kangana.

“In real life, I am simple but very confident. I broke the rules of society and moved out of my house and travelled alone to Mumbai to make a career. However, in the initial stages I was slightly confused and didn’t know what exactly I was looking for and how to go about it.

“I did make some mistakes, but now everything has been sorted.”

Kangana, who does not want to join the current wave surrounding the Aam Aadmi Party, says that she tries to do whatever she can to bring about change in her own way. “If I get a chance to serve my country and bring about changes, I will surely put in my sincere efforts. But at my own personal level I always make it a point to close running taps and switch off fans and lights that are not being used. Also, I don’t like to unnecessarily waste money on laundry. I use my towel for almost 15 days. Extravagance is not permitted in my household.”

On a personal front she says, “I have been open about my affairs and my personal life because I do not like falsehoods. I do not like to hide things as I feel that truth prevails. I do not know why people like to cover up.”

Coming to marriage, the actor reiterates her earlier views about the institution. “I do not endorse this commitment at the moment. I feel two people can enjoy each other’s companionship without being married. I do not see a reason to get it endorsed by any government document… taking the charge of anybody’s soul and also take on their surname. I have seen people having so many issues after getting married and walking away from the commitment. I feel I can be trustworthy while being in a relationship and it doesn’t need to be legalised. To build up one’s trust we need not tie this nuptial knot.

Maybe I will change my mind later but that’s what I feel now.”

“Also if in a relationship someone cheats on me I won’t tolerate it. I am not promoting live-in relationships though,” she adds.

Nothing is impossible, says Kejriwal

Ghaziabad: Set to be sworn-in as Delhi Chief Minister on Saturday, Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said he does not have a magic wand to solve all the problems but nothing is impossible if honest people join hands.

45-year-old Kejriwal, who will be administered oath of office along with six AAP MLAs, at the historic Ramlila Maidan here said there will be no VIPs at the ceremony and 'everyone is invited'.

"It is open for all. No VIP is there. All 'aam admi' will be present. You are all invited," he told reporters.

Portfolios of the new ministers will be announced in the next two days, he said. The cabinet ministers who will take oath along with Kejriwal are Manish Sisodia, Rakhi Birla, Somnath Bharti, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Girish Soni and Satendra Jain.

The Chief Minister-designate asked honest officials and employees of Delhi government to contact him through SMS or email so that they can be deployed at places where they can work to solve Delhi's problems.

"I would request them to contact me through SMS or email, we will depute good people at good places and want to move ahead with them. I don't have a magic wand to solve all the problems, but if good, honest and efficient people join us nothing is impossible," he said.

"For the first time, there is a Chief Minister who is looking for honest officials to work for him, otherwise whenever a new CM comes, he or she looks for those officials who can earn them commission through corruption," he said. If honest officials join us, it can help us giving a corruption-free government, he said.

Asked how AAP would verify if somebody is honesty, he said, "We have a network and we will find out. A team of officials like present education secretary Rajendra Kumar are looking for honest and dynamic officials".

Kejriwal reiterated that as soon as he assumes power he would ensure 700 litres of water supply to each household and said all the necessary groundwork is being done. While calling upon people to come in large numbers at Ramlila ground for the swearing-in ceremony, Kejriwal said he will speak to his guru Anna Hazare and ask him to grace the occasion.

"Anna Hazare is my guru and I would personally talk to him on phone to invite him for the ceremony," he said.

"The invitation would be sent from the government's side and I had asked them to send an invitation to Hazare, Kiran Bedi and Justice Santosh Hegde," Kejriwal said.

In Ralegan Siddhi, Hazare said he would not be able to attend the ceremony on health grounds.

Speaking about the problems facing people, Kejriwal said he will take the help of a team of experts from IIT or IIM as and when required as 'we can't fix everything ourselves'.

Questioned if he would consult Congress which is extending outside support to AAP, on appointment of speaker, he said, "Why will we consult them".

Asked about problems of homeless and destitute who are forced to sleep in the open in the chilling winter night, he said it was an important task which can't be fulfilled without the help of 1.7 crore population of Delhi.

"There are still one lakh people who are fighting cold these days.We will soon install camps for them in different parts of Delhi," he said.

Earlier, Kejriwal held Janta Darbar to listen to the people's grievances and their suggestions. People from as far as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, Bihar and Rajasthan had come to meet him.

People from various parts of Delhi including some government employees also met him and demanded an end to the contractual system in the Delhi government. Some also asked him to take into account the pollution in Yamuna river and work on it on priority basis.

AAP to form govt on Thursday

New Delhi: Belying all claims of being a 'non-actor or no factor' in the Assembly elections by the Congress and BJP, Aam Aadmi Party founder Arvind Kejriwal on Monday gave a formal 'yes’ to form a government in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. He will be meeting Leutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung about staking claim to government formation.

Sources said that Kejriwal will take over as Chief Minister on December 26. Sources close to Kejriwal said the AAP intends to hold its oath-taking ceremony either at Jantar Mantar or the Ramlila Grounds, from where it had launched its anti-corruption crusade two years ago.

Speaking to reporters, AAP leader Manish Sisodia said: "If the Lt Governor permits, oath-taking will take place at Jantar Mantar."

Reacting to the AAP decision, Sheila Dikshit said that Congress will outside support to the government and it will be an issue-based backing. "We have not promised unconditional support to AAP. It is for their programmes, let us see if they deliver," she added.

"Aam Aadmi Party has compromised with a party that is known for corruption," said BJP leader Harsh Vardhan referring to the Congress. AAP has betrayed the people of Delhi, he added.

The AAP office in Ghaziabad was swarmed by supporters ahead of a crucial meeting that began at 10 am.

The engineer-turned-bureaucrat, who was largely instrumental in ending the 15-year rule of caretaker CM Sheila Dikshit, had declared he would take a call on government formation only after getting the feedback from citizens through 'jan sabhas' (public meetings), SMSes, phone calls, Facebook and his party’s website.