Mulayam gets cosy with Amar again

After a bitter separation and much mud-slinging durng the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and expelled SP leader Amar Singh are reportedly cosying up to each other once again.

Although no one in the SP agreed to talk about it, party sources said Mulayam has softened up towards his former colleague. This could be seen in the UP government’s decision to withdraw an ongoing probe by the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) against Singh in the disproportionate assets case. The state government transfered the case to police while withdrawing money laundering charges against him.

The previous Mayawati regime had handed over disproportionate assets complaint against Singh to the EOW while the money laundering charges were being probed by the Enforcement Directorate on the direction of the court. In September, the ED submitted its report to the High Court, which directed that a state agency should probe the matter.

Police have filed a closure report in the money laundering case against Singh, sources said. The complainant Shivakant Tripathi alleged that the state government was going soft on Singh. Tripathi had registered a complaint against Singh at Babupurwa police station in Kanpur in 2009. “Police are likely to give a clean chit to Singh in the disproportionate assets case,” Tripathi said.

The state government’s attitude signals that the two leaders may be patching up though there are many SP leaders who are not in favour of befriending Singh. “Amar Singh may not join the SP but his relations with Mulayam may become normal once again,” said an SP leader.

After being expelled from the SP, Singh had formed Lok Manch party with actress turned politician and Lok Sabha member from Rampur Jaya Prada. He fielded candidates for a large number of seats in the Assembly polls and campaigned aggressively against Mulayam, but could not win a single seat.

Singh had also attacked Mulayam and his family at public meetings, though Mulayam had refrained from speaking against his former party colleague.