'The image of a politician in the eyes of the common person is not good. People are afraid of their leaders and do not want to approach them. Now we have to take the responsibility to change the image of the ugly Indian politician,' Advani said after releasing a book here Monday evening.

He added: 'There is a sharp decline in the principles of youth joining politics. All of them want an instant rise but lack the values of dedication and selfless service. In fact, every field of society has seen a downfall in values, but unfortunately, people raise fingers only towards politicians.'

Advani was in Chandigarh Monday to release the biography of former Punjab minister and senior BJP leader Balramji Dass Tandon.

Advani, who is heading to Shimla Tuesday for the three-day 'Chintan Baithak' of the BJP, refused to answer any media queries on the internal rumblings within the party.

'The standard of our teachers, doctors and even journalists have degraded in the past few years. During the elections, a political party can easily buy space in a newspaper or in the electronic media,' stated Advani.

'You just need to pay few lakh of rupees and the newspaper will publish a whole page describing your achievements. The next day, the rival party will buy a page to counter it. This is a serious problem that our present politics and journalism is facing,' said Advani.

'I often tell youngsters who join our party to maintain a clean image and to bring in the ethics of dedication and hard work. If our politicians are corrupt then it will certainly have an adverse effect on our society.'