The opposition party, however, said the four eminent Congress MPs and leaders who have been included at the instance of the Modi government will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions.
Trying to warm up to Mayawati, rebel Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh said on Saturday that the Bahujan Samaj Party supremo has proved herself against all odds and he can understand her "pain" when she was "humiliated" by Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Some factories in Ghaziabad, from where Amar Singh had resigned six years ago, were also raided, he said.\n\n\n\n
Ending months of speculation, expelled Samajwadi Party leader leaders Amar Singh and Jaya Prada joined the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal on Monday ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
Notwithstanding calls against any rapprochement with him, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Sunday ruled out accepting the resignation of Amar Singh from key party posts and said differences will be sorted out soon.
Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh has expressed confidence that the India-United States civil nuclear agreement will get the crucial nod from American Congress this month, even as he lashed out at political rivals in India for opposing the landmark agreement.Following discussions with Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton in New York, Singh said the former first lady had assured him that Democrats would not hinder the passage of the deal through the US Congress.
Cosying up to the Congress, the Samajwadi Party on Thursday attended a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to mark the United Progressive Alliance's government's four years in office when a lot of bonhomie was exchanged and calls for a consensus on the nuclear deal were made. However, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and SP general secretary Amar Singh, the cynosure of all eyes who walked into the dinner late, did not exchange any greetings.
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh has sent feelers to expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh to join his party. "I have spoken with him and I have very candidly told him that he is not alone. I am too small a fry to invite him to my party, but it will be my fortune to enable him to do something to be active in politics through the platform of SP," Amar Singh told television channels.
The BJP said that since the payment made by Amar Singh was in US dollars and was a substantial amount, RBI clearance should have been sought as per the legal guidelines.
The rift between Samajwadi Party strongman Mulayam Singh Yadav and 'obedient' Akhilesh grew even wider with the father openly backing his son's foes in the party
Terming the defection of four Samajwadi Party Members of Legislative Assembly as 'betrayal' on the part of the Congress, party general secretary Amar Singh has said that the party has broken his heart."Congress party has betrayed us by engineering the defection of four MLAs of our party. They have not only broken my party, but also my heart," Singh said while addressing a tribal convention ahead of assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh.
In a relief for Amar Singh, the Uttar Pradesh police has submitted a closure report in a district court in Kanpur in the three-year-old fraud and embezzlement case against the Rajya Sabha MP, citing lack of evidence.
The Congress on Sunday said it was not stopping anyone from being part of diplomatic delegations to be sent to various countries following Operation Sindoor and that its leaders who have been named at the instance of the government must listen to their conscience and contribute to the exercise.
The government will send seven all-party delegations to key partner countries, including members of the United Nations Security Council, later this month to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
Rediff.com's Sahim Salim speaks to Tihar jail authorities who say Amar Singh constantly keeps complaining about his healh problems and acts bossy with prison guards and some inmates.
The IIFA Digital Awards were announced on Saturday, March 8, 2025, night in Jaipur. Take the look at the winners.
The fourth Pinkvilla Screen & Style Icons awards saw a splash of A-listers walk down the red carpet.
Sitting Bahujan Samaj Party member of Parliament Dhananjay Singh was on Wednesday suspended from the party by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for reportedly rendering support and meeting expelled Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh in jail.
Referring to Amar Singh's claim that the Income Tax department was 'harassing' superstar Amitabh Bachchan by issuing him notices, the Congress spokesman said he should stop acting like 'a spokesperson for the actor.'
Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh's interim bail in the cash-for-vote case was extended by another eight days by a Delhi court before whom his counsel backtracked from his earlier statement that the Bharatiya Janata Party may have been the source of scam money named a Congress member of Parliament.
A Delhi court sought from Tihar jail authorities a report by Friday on Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Amar Singh's health as his counsel pleaded for interim bail to him on the grounds of his "deteriorating" health saying unless released urgently, he might not be "here for trial".
The bail plea hearing of former Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh, in connection with the 2008 cash-for-votes scam, was on Friday deferred till September 12 by a Delhi court. The court also ordered Tihar Jail medical staff to conduct another round of tests on an ailing Singh, who had earlier requested for bail on health grounds, as he is suffering from kidney-related problems. Singh, who was arrested on Tuesday, is presently lodged at Delhi's Tihar Jail.
"Amar Singh will be chairing the closing session of the Saifai festival," Mulayam told reporters on Monday, shortly after inaugurating the 14-day cultural event at Saifai in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh.
The two make quite an unlikely pair in director Umar Karikad's Malayalam film Bombay Mittayi.
Samajwadi Party Member of Parliament Jaya Prada on Sunday came out in defence of her mentor Amar Singh and appealed to the party leadership to prevent him from being 'maligned' by his opponents. "Despite his poor health, Amar Singh has worked selflessly for the party and even campaigned for SP candidates during the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections and last year's Lok Sabha polls," said the MP from Rampur, who was backed by Singh during LS polls.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday sought to downplay the resignation of his close associate Amar Singh from key posts of the party, saying there were no differences with him.
Amar Singh has resigned as the general secretary of the Samajwadi Party. The leader has also quit the membership of its parliamentary board.
The man who slapped a First Investigation Report against high profile Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh, was supposedly at the receiving end now.
Launching a frontal attack on the Samajwadi Party leadership, Amar Singh on Thursday said he was capable of winning Lok Sabha elections from the seats held by party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's kin, including son Akhilesh.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's efforts to broker peace between sulking Amar Singh and Ram Gopal Yadav received a setback on Tuesday with Singh conveying his inability to attend the party's cultural festival at Saifai by posting an open letter on his personal blog.
Expelled Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Rampur Jaya Prada on Tuesday met Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan to seek pardon for actor Sanjay Dutt. Dutt, who has already spent 18 months behind bars, was on Thursday sentenced to five years imprisonment in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh made it amply evident in Lucknow on Monday that it was his threat to expose Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati that prompted her to sit pretty on the First Investigation Report registered in a Kanpur police station against him.
Political parties termed the scuffle in Rajya Sabha following the tabling of the Liberhan Commission report on the Babri Masjid demolition on Tuesday as "unacceptable" and "very painful".
The security of former external affairs minister Natwar Singh on Tuesday was withdrawn by which also scaled down protection for several other VIPs including the Chairman of Schedule Castes Commission Buta Singh and expelled Samajwadi leader Amar Singh.
A group of Muslim MLAs of the Samajwadi Party on Monday demanded expulsion of senior leader Amar Singh from the party, accusing him of damaging the interests of the organisation.
Will Amar Singh be the go-between between the SP and Congress, asks Aditi Phadnis.
Expelled Samajwadi Party MP Amar Singh on Sunday said he was "not angry" with Jaya Bachchan for staying with the SP, but indicated that he would prefer her to join him as she too was "unhappy" with the party affairs.