Dutt quits as SP general secretary

Expressing sadness at the way Samjawadi Party general secretary Amar Singh had been treated by the party, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt on Saturday night also announced his resignation from the post, but said he would stay in the party for the time being.
“After (my mentor) and elder brother Amar Singh stepped down as general secretary, I have no right to hold this post,” Dutt said during a press conference at his Bandra residence here.

Dutt said he was “saddened” at the way Amar Singh, “who had campaigned for the party in the 2009 general elections despite his ill-health, had been treated by the party”, prompting him to quit.

He said after the Supreme Court had barred him from contesting the general elections, Amar Singh had made him the party’s general secretary so that “two brothers were at a an equivalent level”.  
Dutt also expressed regret at Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav’s remarks that it had not gained anything from enrolling film stars in its ranks and they had not even helped the party in getting one seat.

Dutt, however, ruled out resigning from the party “for the time being,” saying that as a party worker he would continue to serve it.
Amar Singh, meanwhile, on Wednesday, announced his resignation as general secretary of the Samajwadi Party and from his other posts, citing health reasons.
“I hardly had any rest. Doctors told me it is not good. At the age of 53, I am entitled to earned leave and need to give more priority to my family. After 20 years of hard work, they (the family) should get priority over Mulayam-ji and the party,” Amar Singh, who had undergone a kidney transplant last summer and is one of the most visible and quoted politicians of the country, told a news channel.

However, party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had made light of Amar Singh’s resignation.
Amar Singh continued to be in the Samajwadi Party and there was “nothing big” if he quit from party posts, Mulayam Singh said on Thursday.
Confirming Amar Singh had said he was resigning from various posts in the party, Mulayam Singh said: “So what? There’s nothing big in it if an office bearer resigns from the party’s posts... He is still with the party.”

“We will sit together and sort out the issue... it’s an internal matter of the party,” he said in reply to a question whether he would persuade Amar Singh to withdraw his resignation.
Agencies