Amar Singh comes out in defence of Amitabh Bachchan

Expelled SP leader Amar Singh today came out in defence of Amitabh Bachchan, saying the Bollywood megastar's consent to becoming the brand ambassador of Gujarat does not mean he supports the Gujarat riots or the policies of RSS.

"The star has only agreed to campaign for Gujarat tourism. He has neither supported the Gujarat riots nor the policies of RSS," he said. Amar Singh said going by Big B's nature, he would even agree to campaign for Taj Mahal as a tourist destination if Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati invited him for the purpose.

He said instead of attacking Bachchan, Congress should remember that Rajiv Gandhi Foundation had awarded Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.

Taking a dig at Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh for his remarks on the Batla house encounter, he said, "he (Digvijay Singh) has woken up months after I raised the issue that the Batla House encounter was fake. When Congress leaders like Salman Khurshid and Kapil Sibal had raised eyebrows on the encounter, why was Digvijay Singh silent."

The Congress leader had yesterday in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district expressed doubts that the Human Rights Commission, which probed the Batla House encounter, heard the aggrieved parties seriously.

He said he himself had raised doubts over the encounter and apprised the prime minister with his suspicions who assured that justice would be delivered in the case.