Mulayam pressurised into sacking Amar: Jaya Bachchan

Mumbai, Feb 3 (IANS) Expelling Amar Singh from the Samajwadi Party (SP) could not have been party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's decision, actor-MP Jaya Bachchan said Wednesday.

'I don't think the decision to expel Amar Singh from the party has anything to do with Mulayam Singhji. I think that he has been pressurised to take this decision,' Bachchan told NDTV, a day after her close friend Amar Singh was sacked from the primary membership of the SP.

'My association with Mulayam Singhji has always been open as he has always allowed party members to speak their mind and he has been democratic in his vision,' she added.

According to Bachchan, Amar Singh's views didn't go down well with party members.

'I think the kind of noises Amar was talking about was right. We have to modernise our way of thinking, we have to evolve and that is what he wanted to bring in the party. This incident is very unfortunate,' explained Bachchan.

'The problem is that he (Amar) speaks the truth and doesn't want to be called a typical politician,' she said.

The Rajya Sabha member also expressed her concern for Amar Singh, who underwent a kidney transplant last year.

'Right now, my prime concern has been Amar's health because for the past five years I have seen him working for the party. He used to forget sleep, food and think only about the party. He was way too obsessed with it.'

'It's just not this only. He has also suffered a lot for the party. When (Bharatiya Janata Party leader) Kalyan Singh was brought back in the party, all blame was put on him. Despite the fact that it was a party decision and not his only. But he was accused of this.'