I'm not agent of any political party: Richa

Actress Richa Chadha, who doesn't fear sharing her opinion on various issues on social media, says she is not an agent of any political party.

During an appearance on Firstpost.com's "Social Media Star", Richa was asked about her thoughts on being branded as an anti-nationalist by some people, read a statement.

Richa commented: "I think the government is essentially a service provider and they need to be reminded of that. It's not about being anti-something but it's about being pro-development, pro-unity and to look at the long-term objectives of how the nation should exist.

"It's not that if one particular party is in power, we will be critical of them and the next term if there's another party, we'll let them go scot-free. I am not an agent of any political party. I just feel that a political party, a person, a thought process, a religion or an institution cannot be equated with the country."

Richa had also received death and rape threats for expressing her opinion on Hindutva supporters on Twitter.

Asked how she reacts to such threats, Richa said: "I don't know how people look at what I say. Maybe they think an ill-informed chick who should just take a picture with lipstick is saying something?

"We all know that social media is not the only world. All political parties are figuring out that the narrative can be changed viz-a-viz what's trending, so they invest in that. They hire people to say such things and it's a typical pattern that they follow."

Sharing an example, she said: "If I say something on Friday evening, it will be trolled from Monday morning because those are the office hours. So I don't know how to take it seriously. I tweeted once saying that I would rather be an angry patriot than being a fake nationalist."

--IANS

nn/mr