Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: The new party on the block, Aam Aadmi Party, who stunned everyone by winning 28 seats in the Delhi Assembly polls in December last year, has given ticket to the man who hurled shoe at Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram in 2009, to contest the Lok Sabha elections .
Jarnail Singh is among the 20 candidates, announced on Sunday, who are on AAP list to fight the upcoming General Elections, likely to be held in April and May this year.
Singh was quoted by PTI as saying that he had applied for a ticket from West Delhi and was informed about his selection yesterday.
Singh, a journalist with a national daily then, hit the headlines in April 2009 when he hurled a shoe at Chidambaram, who was then the Union Home Minister, in protest against his remarks on the clean chit to Congress leaders in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
He was unhappy with the fact that Chidambaram had expressed happiness at Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler being exonerated.
"In a press conference at the AICC office, I asked him about his comments to which he responded that I was using the forum (press conference) for my agenda," Singh said. Upset over this, Singh hurled a shoe at the minister as a "symbolic protest". "It did not hurt him. It was just a symbolic protest," he added.
He further said that he was impressed with the agenda of clean politics outlined by AAP.
"I have been associated with the party since May 2013. I have told him (Kejriwal) that I will do any service to the party...Even if it is the job of a watchman," he said. Singh currently works as a freelance journalist and has authored three books on the anti-Sikh riots.
On campaigning plans, he said his focus would be on Sikh-dominated constituencies in West Delhi.
The West Delhi constituency has a sizable chunk of Poorvanchali population and is currently represented by Congress leader Mahabal Mishra.
With PTI inputs
