Amar reveals deal with UPA to exonerate Mulayam

Expelled leader Amar Singh on Tuesday hit back at the Samajwadi Party, saying that the only deal he tried to strike with the United Progressive Alliance government in 2008 was to 'exonerate' Mulayam Singh Yadav from the disproportionate assets case.

"I did not make any deal but only asked for one favour from the UPA government and that was the exoneration of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav from the disproportionate assets case," he said.

His comments came hours after he and party Member of Parliament Jaya Prada were shown the door by the SP in the wake of growing differences between Singh and Yadav.

Singh was asked to comment over the SP's charge -- that he used the party's support to the UPA-I government in the wake of the crisis over the Indo-United States nuclear deal issue -- to further his 'own interests' and not that of the party.

He said that even after his expulsion, he feels that Yadav has been 'wrongly framed' in the DA case.

Asked whether the government agreed to exonerate Yadav, Singh pointed out that the case was still being fought in the Supreme Court and the law will take own course. "You can say I am a bad deal-maker," he admitted.

At the same time, Singh admitted that he 'bulldozed' the party to support UPA-I after a strong defence of the deal by the former President A P J Abdul Kalam.

"I was the driving force behind forging an alliance with both the UPA governments," he claimed.