For a man who had been hours ago expelled from the party he had a 14-year-long association with, Amar Singh appeared relaxed and unperturbed on Tuesday. In his first interview after the sack, the former Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary spoke to DNA on a range of subjects, including the reasons for his expulsion, his future plans and why he was not surprised at the turn of events. Here’s what he said:
For most part of your 14 years with SP you were considered indispensable. The parting of ways came after you developed irrevocable differences with party chief Mulayam Singh’s family. When did things reach a breakpoint?
Blood is thicker than water… Ramgopal Yadav happens to be Mulayam Singh’s family. He called me mad and his crony, the newly-appointed [SP] spokesman [Mohan Singh], called me kamina, besharam.After my kidney transplant, I wanted a break and twice offered to resign, but my party did not allow. I finally resigned when I was in Dubai, but the resignation was given a political colour. Yesterday [Monday], Rasheed Masood, my former colleague and a member of the party’s central parliamentary board, asked me if there’s a likelihood of my returning to the party. I said I would like to be expelled.
Were your relations with the SP chief strained?
There was no strain in relationship with Mulayam Singh, but I think he succumbed to family pressure. Yes, my relations with his family were strained. I enjoyed Mulayam Singh’s confidence. But I must admit whatever I did in the party I never adhered to it. Like I was called to release the party manifesto which said ‘we oppose English and computers, we oppose tractors….’ It was alien to my thought process.
Has the Congress or the NCP approached you?
I am not thinking of joining any political party right now. I have not spoken with anybody and I have not been approached by anybody.
You deny the possibility of joining a party, but you’ve announced the formation of Lok Manch, you are trying to reach out to kshatriyas and the most-backward classes. Will Lok Manch become your political outfit?
I am a child of destiny and don’t have a pedigree. Right now, I want to chill. The rallies I am attending are not political. You must give me some credit that in the rallies, I am not just talking about kshatriyas but also about Lord Ram. I am saying Ram, a kshatriya, went to the most backward, such as Shabri and Ahilya. I am redefining Ram. I want the social disharmony between these two classes removed.
You’ve said as SP spokesperson, whatever you said against different political leaders was what your party chief wanted you to say and the same is true for the present spokesperson who has been criticising you.
One hundred per cent! A spokesperson can never say anything against anybody without the party chief’s approval. I also know why Ramgopal Yadav is not criticising me now… because the party haschosen a fellow Rajput [Mohan Singh] to do the talking. If you have to take action against a Muslim, you bring a Muslim and if you want to act against a Rajput, you bring a Rajput.
Will your personal relations with Mulayam Singh continue to be the same?
I would be a hypocrite to say that. I would like to respect him, but the quality of our relationship would suffer because of the recent happenings. Mulayam Singh is a hardcore political animal, he has a penchant for success and in that process, his appetite to tolerate criminals in the party is appalling. I have not been able to change that.
You’ve held that your resignation was due to ill health. But you have announced the formation of Lok Manch, your non-political forum, you have been going for mass contact programmes… why this farce of an ailing man?
I am an ailing man who wanted to rest but out of provocation I am going for these mass contacts. All these meetings which I have had without the support of the party have drawn huge crowds. Only time will tell whether I am a rootless wonder or a ‘rootful’ wonder.
Would you say you were in a wrong party as you didn’t agree with its ideology?
I got carried away with the kind of importance I was getting in SP. There were many things I shouldn’t have tolerated but I did because I am not a political animal.
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