Sri Lanka: Noted filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt says a section in the Congress party wanted him to consider a Rajya Sabha nomination but he refused saying his views are "very subversive" and that he is a "non-conformist".
"There was a faction within Congress which strongly felt that I should become a representative in the Rajya Sabha.
They tried to prevail upon me that, because of the kind of person I am and the kind of positions I have taken, I would perhaps be the right person to be a possible candidate for the Rajya Sabha," Bhatt told PTI over phone from Sri Lanka, where he is working on his latest film.
But the 61-year-old veteran filmmaker said he turned down the offer as he doesn't want to use his activism as a tool to rise in power.
"I nipped the very idea in the bud saying that we all begin our journey fighting for justice for people but we end up wanting to wear a crown. I am a lone wolf, a maverick.
I am not a group or committee person. My views are very subversive and my life is of a non-conformist.
"I will not use my activism and the various causes I have been crusading for as a springboard to come into power.
I neither have the talent nor the inclination," he said.
Bhatt also said that his refusal doesn't mean that others should follow his example. "I am not setting up what I did as an example for people to emulate.
I am aware of my limitations so I said no gracefully," he said.
