Meeting with Rajnath was not political: Amar Singh

Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh today sought to downplay his meeting with BJP President Rajnath Singh at a function last night, saying no politics should be read into it as it was just a social gathering.  

"Rajnath Singh is like my elder brother and I have no enmity with him. As I was called for a social dinner, I went there. I also attended the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh even when we had differences with Congress then," Singh told reporters here.  

Asked if BJP was still an untouchable for SP, Singh said: "So far yes. As long as BJP does not give up contentious issues like Ram temple, Article 370 and Uniform Civil Code, how can we touch BJP."  

The SP leader said that except his party and Left, all other parties have done business with BJP at one point in time or the other.  "So far only Left and SP have not done business with BJP. While Left fought BJP ideologically, we fought them at ground level...In the laboratory of Hindutva," he said.  

Singh said he spoke to NCP leader Sharad Pawar today and informed that a meeting of Pawar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan and SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav would take place after May 17 when they arrive in Delhi.  

He also said that the Fourth Front leaders are also likely to meet Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjeevi.

Singh said that he had good relations with CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan and CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury. He also refrained from attacking CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat.  

When asked if Karat was an obstacle in coming together of Third Front and Fourth Front, he said: "Karat is not an obstacle. He is a good person. He only failed to separate politics from personal relationships."  

He also confirmed his meeting with senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee last night, but tried to give an impression that it was not of any political significance.  

"Pranab Mukherjee is like an elder brother. He is not authorised (by Congress) to talk me on politics.....That meeting was very informal and at a personal level," he said.  

The SP leader added that Mukherjee used to meet him even when there was acrimony with the Congress.  On the phone call that Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh made to him yesterday, he said: "I had not called him. He called me. But I do not understand the need to make it public....No political meaning should be drawn from it."  

He said that the Congress leader sought "forgiveness" from him for anything unsavory incident that might have happened between them during the election campaigning.  

When asked about the grapevine that Congress leaders were wooing BSP chief Mayawati, Singh did not give a direct reply, but said some "arrangement" had been worked out between her and BJP leader L K Advani.