Amar says he has 'full information' about cash-for-vote case

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Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, facing prosecution for his alleged role in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam, on Tuesday claimed he has 'full information' about the episode but refused to comment as case is sub-judice.

"I have full information about the case. But I will not comment as the matter is sub-judice," Singh said addressing a press conference here.

Singh, who was undergoing treatment under judicial custody at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), was granted bail by the Delhi High Court on October 24 on 'humanitarian grounds' in view of his medical condition.

The former Samajwadi Party leader said he has full faith in judiciary and would not comment on the scam although a section in SP was trying to 'defame' him.

He said he would go to Singapore either on November 15 or 16 for further treatment of his kidney ailment.

"I have delayed my visit to Singapore as my doctor has gone to the US. Now I have planned to go to Singapore either on November 15 or 16. I will apprise the court about my travel plan," he said.

A Delhi court on November one had allowed him to go to Singapore from November 8 to November 30, stipulating that he would have to furnish a surety bond of Rs 5 lakh before going abroad. Singh had moved the court last month for its permission to go abroad.

The high court, while granting bail to Singh, had said that he would not leave the country without prior permission of the lower court.

He was arrested in the cash-for-vote case on September 6. During the press conference, Singh demanded creation of a Poorvanchal state curved out of Uttar Pradesh and asked Chief Minister Mayawati to bring a proposal in this regard in the winter session of state Assembly.

Asked whether the charge sheet filed against him will create hindrances in his political career, Singh said he was innocent till proved guilty.

"Then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao was charge sheeted in the JMM bribery case...There was a charge sheet against BJP leader L K Advani. He is doing well in politics," he said.

He said he 'welcomed' the court's decision to send him to jail and grant him bail in the cash-for-vote case.

On the issue of trifurcating Uttar Pradesh into Poorvanchal (east UP), Paschimanchal (west UP) and Bundelkhand, he said it was necessary as smaller states can develop at a faster pace.

"Mayawati has written a letter to the Prime Minister on the issue. But the letter won't help till the state assembly passes a resolution for the creation of Poorvanchal," Singh said.

He said while BJP leader and PAC Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi and Law Minister Salman Khurshid have been speaking on the 2G scam, people of Uttar Pradesh do not understand the technical terms and only know about poor power supply and lack of facilities for farmers.

He also demanded a 'white paper' by the UP government on the amount spent on development of east Uttar Pradesh and on creating parks in various parts of the state.

Singh, who has floated Rashtriya Lokmanch Party, would hold a rally in Sarnath near Varanasi on November 14 to press for creation of Poorvanchal, a move opposed by SP with which he was earlier associated.