Sanjay is a good man, Varun immature: Hema

Bollywood actor and Rajya Sabha MP Hema Malini on Wednesday sympathized with colleague Sanjay Dutt for being debarred from contesting 
elections. Her reaction came contrary to feelings expressed by state unit of the BJP one day ahead of her visit.

"I know that he is a good man just like his father Sunil Dutt. He had good chances of winning the Lucknow seat if he contested. It is a different matter that he went to jail earlier and was found unfit to contest under present laws," said Malini. She was talking to reporters in Ranchi before setting out to campaign in four districts of the state. "Since Sanjay Dutt represents Bollywood the apex court verdict will not go down well with other silver screen artistes," she added.

Earlier on Tuesday state BJP spokesperson Sanjay Seth had welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict. He said it was a historical judgment that indicated electoral reforms to prevent criminalization of politics are well in place.

Hema also emphasized the role of young politicians in national politics. "Encouraging children to join politics is a must. I always encourage my daughters to taken interest in politics otherwise very soon the entire system will be handled by outdated and unfit people," she said adding, "Rahul Gandhi is a good and promising youth politician."