I am Mulayam's Hanuman: Amar Singh

Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary Amar Singh Wednesday said he is party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's Hanuman, thus comparing himself to the monkey god and the party chief to Lord Ram. He also referred to Chief Minister Mayawati's rule as 'Ravan raj'.

Amar Singh, along with Sanjay Dutt, Jaya Bachchan and Rampur MP Jaya Prada, was in the city to address a rally in the city's Chowk locality in support of party candidate Bhukal Nawab in the Nov 7 by-poll.

"Mayawati has set my tail on fire by lodging a case against me in Kanpur and I assure you that I will set Maya's entire corrupt empire on fire," Amar Singh asserted.

A lawyer, Shiva Kant Tripathi, had lodged a case against Amar Singh in Kanpur last month, accusing the SP leader of amassing over Rs.500 crore during his stint as chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Development Council when Mulayam Singh was chief minister.

Amar Singh also accused the Congress of back-stabbing the Samajwadi Party.

"Be it the confidence motion for the nuclear deal or supporting them in the Lok Sabha election, we were always with the Congress. But now they have forgotten us. We love Rahul Gandhi but the Congress is betraying us by its activities in Firozabad," he said.

Amar Singh was referring to Rahul Gandhi's recent visit to Firozabad in support of its candidate in the by-election, Raj Babbar. Mulayam Singh's daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav is SP's candidate from Firozabad. The seat was vacated by the SP chief's son Akhilesh Yadav as he contested and won from Kannauj and Firozabad seats.

Actor and party general secretary Sanjay Dutt also criticised the Congress.

"The Congress party gave many pains to my father Sunil Dutt, who remained with the party throughout his life despite the odds. After declaring Raj Babbar as its candidate from Firozabad, the Congress has hammered the last nail in its coffin," Sanjay said.

Hearing the woes of party workers, who complained that they were not able to see their leaders because of the mediapersons standing in front of the stage, Jaya Bachchan said on a lighter note: "Has Mayawati sent you people to prevent our supporters from seeing us?".

Jaya Prada, the MP from Rampur, blamed the state government of pulling Uttar Pradesh back in terms of development.

"Both the Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party are doing nothing for the development of the state and only the Samajwadi Party is the best option for you," she said.

By-elections to 11 assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat will take place in the state Nov 7.

Last updated on Nov 4^th, 2009 at 23:47 pm IST--IANS