Thaindian News

New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) Samajwadi Party Lok Sabha member Jaya Prada Sunday batted hard for former party strongman Amar Singh and lashed out at his detractors, saying they will be responsible if “anything happened to him”.
“If anything happens to him (Amar Singh), those who have targeted him in the party will be responsible,” Jaya Prada told mediapersons here, coming out publicly in support of a friend whom the Samajwadi Party has now come to view as a liability.

Jaya Prada, Lok Sabha member from Rampur and a close associate of Amar Singh, however, hastened to say she was not quitting the Samajwadi Party. She also added that there was no need for Amar Singh to resign his Rajya Sabha seat.

She urged Samajwadi Party chief Mulyam Singh Yadav to check newly-appointed general secretary Mohan Singh, who she said had called Amar Singh “mad” and “shameless”.

The actor-politician, who was accompanied by some party legislators, said she would work with Amar Singh in Lok Manch, a non-political outfit, in raising problems of the common people.

She also came out in support of Amar Singh on the issues of the creation of a new state of Purvanchal, to be carved out from the present Uttar Pradesh, as well as the use of computers.

Jaya Prada said she differed from Samajwadi Party’s official line on the women’s reservation bill. The MP said she had backed the move to give reservation to women in legislatures while she was in the Telugu Desam Party but was later bound by the official line of the Samajwadi Party.

“As an individual, I feel it is important to encourage women (to contest elections),” said Jaya Prada.

Jaya Prada added that Amar Singh’s resignation from party posts on health grounds had been politicised.

Amar Singh resigned from all party posts in the Samajwadi Party Jan 6. He is a Rajya Sabha member of the party.

Singh underwent a kidney transplant at a hospital in Singapore last year.