Amar Singh loves talking, and isn't shy of controversy. It will be interesting to see what he will say now, as the noose tightens around him in the cash-for-votes scandal. Did he fund the bribing of MPs, as his assistant has just told the police?
The politician hasn't surfaced in three days, giving rise to the suspicion that he may have gone into hiding. It is uncharacteristic of Amar Singh to be so quiet. Has this scandal shut him up?
Just a couple of months ago, the very same Amar Singh was whispering lover-boy dialogues into the ears of someone whose voice sounded like Bipasha Basu's. It was "innocent flirting", if you happened to be Amar Singh, and sleazy talk if you weren't. (The beautiful actress has since denied it was her on the phone laughing seductively when Amar Singh said, "Age matters between the legs"). Now, as the police ponder going after him, the focus is again on a man many witheringly call a fixer.
Amar Singh is in trouble because a man close to him is in police custody, and is singing. In 2008, the UPA needed the support of MPs from outside its fold to endorse the nuclear deal that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was pushing, and Amar Singh allegedly gave money to BJP lawmakers to persuade them to abstain from voting so that the deal could sail through. The MPs took the cash and then produced it in parliament. Sanjeev Saxena, the man now in police custody, allegedly handed the MPs Rs 1 crore each.
Amar Singh has never been apologetic about being someone who 'facilitates' deals, so when he came on television after the scandal broke, he was relaxed, confident that the charge could never be proved.
He has been friends with Anil Ambani and Amitabh Bachchan, and they have never denied that he helped them get out of sticky situations. In fact, in one phone conversation, Ambani profusely thanks Amar Singh for swinging a deal, and talks about what sounds like kickbacks. For many years, Amar Singh was Mulayam Singh Yadav's PR face, speaking English on behalf of the powerful UP politician and appearing on national television regularly. As Mulayam Singh's influence waned, Amar Singh gradually moved out of his circle.
At the moment, he is a freewheeling politician, but his ease with the media hadn't changed. The Enforcement Directorate is investigating his financial affairs. His name is likely to come up in other scandals now being probed. Is his time finally up?
Read this extensively researched article How Amar Singh became a fixer, and why no one wants him now on First Post. It gives a good picture of the man and his style.
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