Congress nominee for North-West Mumbai parliamentary constituency Sunil Dutt on Thursday denied his son and Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt had ever planned to campaign for him.
"Since 1984, when I first came into political life, I have kept my family away from campaigning. Where is the question of Sanjay campaigning for me?
"The issue was raised by some interested parties and whoever has given such statement seemed to just mislead the people," the sitting MP told reporters in Mumbai.
Skirting a recent statement made by Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray that Sanjay Dutt would not campaign for the Congress, Dutt said, "I have great respect for Thackeray. In fact, he described me and Nargis as true patriots. He is my old friend and he is too great a man to talk about this."
Dutt regretted complaints from some quarters about his irregular attendance in Parliament.
"Before making any allegations, people should be aware of the proper reasons for my absence. People are being misled as they do not know the real reasons," he said.
Dutt will be contesting for the fifth time since 1984. In between, he did not contest two times, reportedly due to 'lack of leadership' in the party during those days.
His main rival is Sena Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Nirupam.
