Amar Singh dies: He was the General Secretary of the Samajwadi Party and was a member of the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. He was born on 27th January 1956 in a Rajput family at Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh.
Amar Singh was not only an extravagant businessman but also a powerful politician, who was one among India’s most prominent icons from industry, politics and Bollywood among his closest friends, including Super star Amitabh Bachchan.
Singh had friends in all political parties but he was also known for his controversial political decisions and statements. Few of them were:
Cash for votes controversy, 2008
Amar Singh was alleged to have played a prominent role in a cash-for-votes scam when the United Progressive Alliance government was facing a trust vote in the Parliament. He was issued a charge sheet for this alleged act of purchasing votes.
Phone tapping controversy, 2011
Amar Singh was allegedly heard setting up agreements with top officials across various professions – politicians, businessmen, bureaucrats and members of the Bollywood industry over phone calls, which was ‘exposed’ by the media in 2011. Amar Singh out rightly denied these allegations, saying that it was not involved in these deals.
Bipasha Basu controversy
A controversy surrounded Singh’s telephone conversations in 2006, after his phone was illegally tapped. The conversation became a sensation as it was purported to be an inappropriate conversation between him and Bollywood actor Bipasha Basu. Singh denied that the remark was made to Ms. Basu, and said that it was a conversation with a male friend.
Amar Singh and the Bachchans
Amar Singh and actor Amitabh Bachchan were very close friends and even the politician said that he considered the actor like his elder brother. Amar Singh was one of the biggest support to Amitabh Bachchan when his Bollywood career was going through a bad phase. Singh even mentored the political career of Jaya Bachchan during her stint with the Samajwadi Party. However, the friendship started plummeting during 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Singh wanted Jaya to quit SP after he was expelled from the party, but the actress-turned-politician did not agree to do so.
Amar Singh vs Mayawati
Amar Singh had accused Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Supremo Mayawati of kidnapping six MPs of his party from Uttar Pradesh and holding them captive in Uttar Pradesh Bhavan ahead of the crucial trust vote, in July 2008. When it was proved wrong, the six MPs including him were expelled from the party.
2011, ‘fix-a-judge’ CD controversy:
A CD which is supposed to have a conversation between Singh, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, and former law minister Shanti Bhushan, was exposed in 2011. Bhushan was heard suggesting that a desired court verdict can be received by bribing a judge Rs 4 crore.
This former Samajwadi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh was admitted at a hospital in Dubai with kidney failure and was stated to be critical on 19 February 2013. He died on 1st August 2020. He was 64. He has left behind his wife Pankaja and twin daughters.
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