By IANS,
New Delhi : Continuing his tirade against Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh Sunday charged him with insulting Manyata, the wife of Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt whom the party named a candidate for the Lok Sabha poll from Lucknow.
“Digvijay Singh refused to recognise Manyata and insulted her,” Amar Singh told reporters here.
When asked for his reaction to Manyata’s name being proposed, the Congress leader Saturday said he did not know who she was. The Samajwadi Party proposed Manyata’s name in case Sanjay Dutt was not allowed to contest the polls because of criminal cases against him.
“Suppose I ask who is Laxman Singh. Is he the same person as Digvijay Singh’s brother who is in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)?” Singh said sarcastically.
This charge is the newest in a row that Amar Singh has been making against the Congress leader. He warned Digvijay Singh against creating tensions between the parties, which are ruling allies at the centre.
“Digvijay Singh called our party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav a corrupt person in the presence of Rahul Gandhi, some other Congress leaders and Mulayam’s younger brother Ram Gopal Yadav,” Amar Singh alleged.
“It was thanks to Rahul Gandhi, who intervened and got Digvijay Singh to apologise,” he claimed, but added that such conduct was not good for the future of their alliance.
Singh also said that Digvijay Singh has been making statements that are not in consonance with the rules of pre-poll alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election.
“Digvijay Singh has said that all options are open for them in Uttar Pradesh. We welcome their options but such statements are not in favour of an alliance and they have to decide whether they are fighting us or the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP),” Singh said.
While the seat sharing for the alliance has not been finalised, the Samajwadi Party has already announced 47 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in the state.
Asked about the possibility of alliance, Amar Singh expressed his faith in Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
“I am still hopeful for the alliance, because we have accepted the leadership of Soniaji,” he said.
Amar Singh also said alliance or no alliance, the Samajwadi Party would not put up its candidates in Rae Bareli and Amethi, the parliamentary constituencies of Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi.