Congress not too enthusiastic in welcoming Amar Singh

Congress today gave ample indications that it was not unduly enthusiastic in welcoming Amar Singh to the party despite growing speculation that his resignation from various posts in SP was aimed at returning to it.
    
"Singh's case has to be recommended by the state unit to the general secretary after which the application can be forwarded to the Congress president to take a decision," AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters, adding that he is wishing Amar "good health".
    
In reply to a volley of questions, Digvijay Singh, who is in charge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh, declined to specify whether Amar Singh would be an 'asset' or a 'liability' for the party.
    
"I am extremely grateful to him", the Congress leader said when asked that Amar Singh had only recently hailed party chief Sonia Gandhi for her benevolence to late Prime minister Chandra Shekhar during his illness.
    
Another Congress leader, who declined to be identified, said that "due diligence" needed to be carried out by the party before making any acquisition. 'Due diligence' is a process undertaken by a firm to know the health of a unit before acquiring it.
    
While Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan steered clear of the issue describing it as an internal matter of the Samajwadi Party, another Congress leader questioned as to when Amar Singh became a strong political force.
    
Amar Singh was an AICC member from Madhya Pradesh before parting ways some 15 years ago.