Amar Singh

Amar Singh, general secretary of the Samajwadi Party, has threatened to file a suit against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf for spreading rumours that he purchased a Bentley car worth Rs 2.5 crore as a birthday gift to Abhishek Bachchan.

He also threatened to file suits against television channels if they did not refrain from giving out false information.

Singh fumed throughout the press conference, which he had called at short notice, to explain his stance.

Haroon Yusuf had charged Singh of giving a false address while purchasing the car -- Singh had provided Amitabh Bachchan's address.

"I made the payment by cheque and have quoted the PAN number while making the payment. The car was purchased five days ago and flown to Delhi from London. I paid Rs 30 lakh to the Maharashtra government. If this does not figure in my income tax, then you can complain. You could complain if Amitabh Bachchan says that he does not live at the address I gave. Yuu have to decide who has more credibility: Amitabh or Haroon," he said.

He disclosed that his advocates are already looking at the legal options to file cases against Yusuf and television channels. He added that unless the government makes purchasing of the car a criminal offence, he would keep buying vehicles.

He was particularly severe on the media as he felt that majority of his problems emanated from the media stories about him and his proximity to the Bachchan family.

"Sometimes, you run a story that the car was a gift from father to son. Then, you say it was gifted by me. It is my car. My son Abhishek and bahu Ashwariya Rai can use the vehicle when I am not using it or when I'm not in Mumbai. Then you run stories about Ash being married to a peepal tree to take care of Mangal. Let me tell you Amitabh Bachchan does not believe in these things. Please leave us alone," he pleaded.

Photograph: Pradeep Bandekar