Amar Singh threatens to quit SP over Azam Khan

Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary Amar Singh has threatened to quit the party over his reported differences with his colleague and senior party leader Mohd Azam Khan.

“It seems that the party can exist without me, but not without Azam Khan,” Singh said while talking to reporters during a seminar on Muslims’ issues here on Tuesday. He said Azam Khan had used foul language against him on several occasions. “If the party leadership thinks that Azam Khan is essential for the party, I am willing to leave the party,” he said tersely.

“There is a limit to my patience. I have always been asked by the party leadership to exercise restraint and not to retaliate. I may be small fry compared to Azam Khan but I will not tolerate abusive language from anyone,” he said.

Trouble between Amar Singh and Mohd Azam Khan, one of the SP’s founders and the Muslim face of the party, has been brewing ever since Jaya Prada contested the Lok Sabha election from Rampur in 2004. It was Amar Singh who brought in Jaya Prada as the candidate from Rampur.

Khan, who is also the party’s national general secretary and belongs to Rampur, is upset over being reportedly ignored by the actress. He has expressed his displeasure publicly since the SP declared Jaya Prada as its candidate from Rampur again.

Relations between the two SP leaders worsened further when some persons, allegedly supporters of Mohd Azam Khan, attacked Jaya Prada’s carcade in Rampur recently. Amar Singh has been supporting Jaya Prada which has apparently angered Azam Khan further.

Matters came to a head when SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav joined hands with former BJP leader Kalyan Singh. Khan has often blamed Amar Singh for bringing Kalyan into the party.

Mulayam has publicly appealed to Azam Khan to open a dialogue to sort out the differences and even offered the Rampur seat to Azam Khan. Mulayam met Azam in Delhi recently and after a two-hour meeting it was understood that the differences had been settled.

However, Amar Singh is apparently upset over Mulayam going out of his way to pander to the desires of the long-sulking Azam Khan who continues to vent his ire against Amar and Jaya Prada. Things now seem to have reached a point where Mulayam may have to make a choice between the two warring leaders.