For Mulayam, Amar Singh is now 'history'

Terming his one-time blue-eyed party general secretary Amar Singh as a part of history, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday made it clear that the disgruntled leader's exit will have no bearing on his party.

Reacting to a barrage of queries related to Amar's resignation at a press conference in Lucknow, a visibly relaxed Mulayam said, "Why do you talk about the past; I don't believe in looking back. Think about what is lying ahead and not history."

The way Mulayam skirted and evaded questions on his one time closest confidante made it amply evident that Amar was a closed chapter for him.

"However much you may try, you are not going to get anything more from me on this issue. I can assure you that some of your queries will get answered tomorrow, when I will lead a huge demonstration in protest against the rise in prices and escalation in crime across the state," he said.

In fact, he preferred to talk about the state-wide demonstrations to be staged by SP activists at all district headquarters of the state on Tuesday.

"I strongly feel that both the state and the central governments were equally responsible for the price," he said.

Referring to the rising death toll in the state due to the cold wave, Mulayam claimed, "Let me tell you that those reported to be breathing their last due to the acute winter chill were actually dying on account of hunger."