Dutt asks Muslim clerics to pray for him

Dutt asks Muslim clerics to pray for him

March 16, 2009 |18:49 | Celebrities By : Team X

Bollywood star and Samajwadi Party candidate from Lucknow Sanjay Dutt Monday met prominent Muslim clerics and urged them to pray for him so that he gets the Supreme Court's permission to contest the coming Lok Sabha elections.

"They (Muslim clerics) are my elders. I respect them a lot. I have asked them to pray for me so that I get the permission for contesting the elections," Dutt told reporters. "I have full faith in the almighty and Supreme Court. Lucknow is mine. I hope to get the permission for contesting the elections," he added.

Dutt was convicted under the Arms Act for illegal possession of an AK-47 rifle after the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai. His appeal against the verdict is pending in the Supreme Court. After visiting the 17th century Teele Waali Masjid in old Lucknow Sunday, Dutt Monday afternoon went to the Aishbagh Idgah, where he held a closed-door meeting with the prominent Sunni cleric Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahli.

Dutt also visited the Nakhaas area in the old city to meet Maulana Aleem Farooqui, another leading cleric. Getting the news Dutt was in the area, a large number of his fans lined up on the streets to catch a glimpse of their 'Munnabhai'.

This time, Dutt's wife Manyata was not accompanying him. To questions on her absence, Dutt quipped light-heartedly: "Begum ki jagah to ghar mein hoti hai (the wife's place is at home)." According to party officials, Dutt was also scheduled to visit the National Inter College in the evening to interact with teachers and students there.

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