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Arjun Singh joins issue with Amar Singh

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 29. The senior Congress leader, Arjun Singh, today joined issue with the Samajwadi Party general secretary, Amar Singh, denying he had suggested that the Congress should withdraw support to the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government in Uttar Pradesh.

A day after the SP leader ruled out the possibility of any scope for seat adjustments with the Congress in the coming Lok Sabha elections and cited Mr. Arjun Singh's statement on March 13 as one of the sore points, the Congress leader said that it was only out of a sense of decency that he did not say anything about the statement.

"It appears that Mr. Amar Singh believes that I tape all my press conferences and the one I had in Lucknow on March 12 was also taped. The transcript and the tape have been submitted to the Congress president because these mischievous insinuations were being made,'' he said in a statement released here.

The senior Congress leader also said that he could understand the "compulsion of Mr. Amar Singh to help Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the BJP-RSS combine but I would only ask him to refrain from using my name as an alibi for his action.''

Meanwhile, the Congress said the "true face'' of parties, which considered themselves secular but did not join hands against the BJP, would be known in the coming elections. The party spokesperson, Anand Sharma, reiterated that the Congress had not only made a sincere effort but the party president, Sonia Gandhi, had also taken the initiative to bring together all secular forces to take on the BJP-led alliance.

Over the last few days, the Congress has renewed its offer to the SP to join hands with it to take on the BJP. The stand articulated by the party last Saturday came a day after the spokesperson, Kapil Sibal, made a veiled threat that the Congress could withdraw support to the SP Government.

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