Amar Singh defends UP govt's handling of Mathura clashes

Defending the Uttar Pradesh government's handling of the Mathura clashes, Samajwadi Party MP Amar Singh today "complimented" it for tackling the "ticklish" issue and blamed the Centre for not sharing inputs on the presence of extremist elements at Jawahar Bagh.
"I compliment the state government for handling the ticklish (Mathura) issue. Home Minister Rajnath Singh cannot shed his responsibilities. Can he tell whether central intelligence agency had given any input to state regarding presence of Naxalites of Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and Odisha in Mathura," Singh told reporters.
"We were not informed about presence of extremist elements there", Amar said.

Responding to BJP Chief Amit Shah's allegations that senior party leader and Cabinet Minister Shivpal Yadav had provided patronage to the cult, Singh said, "A big leader from Gujarat has demanded resignation of the state government over Mathura incident. I want to know if he asked for the same from the CM of Madhya Pradesh, where Vyapam scam took place, or from Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh, after Naxalites killed Vidya Charan Shukla or the Haryana CM, after rapes took place during the quota stir."
Replying to a question, Singh said Shivpal had known Jai Gurudev, who was the spiritual head of the sect occupying the Jawahar Bagh, but added that it was a matter of personal faith.

"Even I used to visit his ashram and will again go," he said, adding that the one that occupied Jawahar Bagh was a "break-away faction".

"The state was defamed during Badaun rape and leaders
like Rahul Gandhi, Ram Vilas Paswan, Mayawati visited there. But when CBI gave clean chit no one uttered anything", he said.
Singh said he appreciated Narendra Modi for pursuing India's entry into the 48-nation Nuclear Supplier Group, but added that the BJP "stood with China and Pakistan, when UPA government was entering into the nuclear deal (with USA)."
"SP supported the then Manmohan Singh government after taking advice of APJ Abdul Kalam, who termed it necessary," he said.

Taking potshots at the saffron party, he said, "I pay obeisance to lord Ram but do not play politics in his name. No one has patented Ram, he is for everyone."
Asked about Kairana issue, where several families were allegedly leaving their homes due to fear of criminals, Singh said that whatever action was required would be taken at the administrative level.
"But can the Centre tell about exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Jammu and Kashmir," he asked.
Singh also spoke about his connection with RLD, saying he had contested elections on its ticket and the party helped SP in MLC and Rajya Sabha polls.

On Shankaracharya of the Dwarka-Sharda peeth, Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati's allegation that "Yadav" community was responsible for Mathura incident, he said he condemned any such statement.
"He is Shankaracharya of Dwarka, Lord Krishna will not be happy with him for his comments on Yadav community," he added.