Amar Singh (politician)

Infobox Indian politician


caption =
name = Amar Singh
office = Member of the Rajya Sabha
term_start =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1956|01|27
birth_place = Aligarh Uttar Pradesh, India
party = Samajwadi Party
spouse = Shrimati Pankaja Kumari Singh
children = 2 daughters
alma_mater = St. Xavier's College, Kolkata
University College of Law, Kolkata
profession = Industrialist

Amar Singh (Hindi:अमर सिंह), one of the founding leaders of Samajwadi Party, born 27 January, 1956 in Aligarh, is an Indian politician from the state of Uttar Pradesh and is a close associate of the party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. He is the secretary-general of the Samajwadi Party and a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament.

Singh is a close friend of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and billionaire industrialist Anil Ambani. [cite news |title=Amar Singh distances from Big B's I-T problems |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1651681.cms |work=Times of India |date=2006-06-15 |accessdate=2008-01-18]

Controversies

In 2005, Singh was told that his telephone conversations were being tapped. [cite news |title=Sonia tapping our phones: Mulayam Singh |url=http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/30sonia.htm |work=Rediff India |publisher=PTI |date=2005-12-30 |accessdate=2008-01-18] cite news |title=Police question Amar Singh on phone tapping charge |url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/14/stories/2006011412290100.htm |work=The Hindu |date=2006-01-14 |accessdate=2008-01-18] Audio CDs of the conversations were leaked to NDTV and other television channels in February 2006. cite news |title=Congress demands Amar Singh's arrest |url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/26/stories/2006022601080900.htm |work=The Hindu |date=2006-02-26 |accessdate=2008-01-18] The recordings included Singh's conversations with politicians, Indian film actresses, and industrialist Anil Ambani and a discussion about influencing a court case. Singh has denied wrongdoing and accused the Indian National Congress and others of directing the phone tap campaign against him. As of 2007, Indian courts have blocked the release of the recordings to the public.cite news |title=Amar reels out tape tirade |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060107/asp/frontpage/story_5691853.asp |work=The Telegraph (Calcutta) |date=2007-01-06 |accessdate=2008-01-18]

Amar Singh carried out extensive alterations to his official residence 27 Lodhi Estate, which is officially protected under New Delhi’s heritage laws, generating controversy in the press. These alterations include decoration of the outer walls of the garden with white marble bas-reliefs of cherubs and angels, an annex with a modern gym with Nordic Trackers and cycle machines and a large marble jacuzzi with gold plated taps. Each of the main rooms of the house has a sixty-inch plasma-screen Bang & Olufsen TV. The main dining room ceiling of the bungalow divides by a remote control mechanism to reveal a dazzling view of the roof through the prism of a small glass pyramid, thought to be have been modeled on I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid at the Louvre in Pariscf."In spite of the gods", Edward Luce,pg 134-136.] Amar Singh's prominence in Delhi surged when the UPA government was reduced to a minority after the Communist Party of India withdrew their support over the proposed Nuclear Accord with the United States. His Samajwadi Party, founded by Mulayam Singh Yadav, came with support of his 39 members. However, his party was considered vulnerable to defections as members might feel safer running for other parties in the upcoming General Elections; particularly Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party. On 22 July2008 he accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and her two top IAS officers of kidnapping 6 Members of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh and holding them captive in the Chanakya Puri guarded by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

Amar Singh has also supported the 2 Terrorists killed in a Shootout with the Delhi Police in September 2008. Since his party enjoyed a good minority vote bank, Amar Singh has seen a bigger opportunity to capture vote share by resorting to this National Shame policy of supporting murderers and calling them innocent. Even though the shootout in Delhi claimed the life of a Delhi Police officer, Amar Singh has degraded morally in accusing the police force.

References

*"In spite of the gods", Edward Luce,pg 134-136.
*cite web |url=http://164.100.24.167:8080/members/website/Mainweb.asp?mpcode=73 |title=My Biodata |publisher=Indian parliament |date=2008-01-18.

External links

* [http://164.100.24.167:8080/members/website/Mainweb.asp?mpcode=73 Member's Website - Shri Amar Singh]