Bollywood actor Aamir Khan today expressed sadness over the trend of political parties giving tickets to candidates with criminal background considering their winnability, but expressed hope that people at large would stop voting for criminals.

"Political parties give tickets to people with criminal background because they want one seat in the Lok Sabha. The same people later sit in Parliament and decide laws of our country," Khan said.

"Political parties give tickets to criminals because we vote for them," Khan, who has been taking up social issues through his television show 'Satyamev Jayate', said.

"As a normal Indian I am sad about this. I hope the political parties will rise above all this," the actor said, adding that parties are catching the right signal.

"Ultimately, these things will change as people at large will stop voting for criminals," Khan, who exercised his franchise in Mumbai last week, said.

Khan was speaking at the NDTV Indian of the Year Awards function held here. Social activist Aruna Roy and Congress leader and Union Minister Salman Khurshid also spoke on the occasion.

Roy said that to be a part of the "power that decides for us", we have to actively participate in the voting process.

"The power that decides for us is contained in the system so it is always advisable that we become part of the system. If don't push the system, then someone else will sit there and make laws in the way they want," she said.

Admitting to making mistakes under stress, Khurshid said he has been witness to many amendments in criminal laws that were ridiculous.

"Lot of amendments made to the criminal laws are ridiculous. We are making the mistakes under stress. I was also the part of Parliament that has made mistakes," he said.