Very rarely have I disliked a person at first sight. Amar Singh was one such haughty and supercilious person. And, with the passage of time, as I got to know more of him and about him, that dislike grew. It would be wrong to call him an industrialist turned politician as, to begin with, he was associated with some industries but never owned them. He was a middle-man, a wheeler-dealer who rose to become a Member of Parliament through the upper house and an influential figure.
I met Amar Singh for the first time in 1994 when I, as Executive Director, Udyog Bandhu, Government of UP had accompanied the then UP Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav to England as a part of the industry delegation to attract investment to the state. Amar Singh was emerging as an influential person apparently close to the Chief Minister (He went on run the show in UP subsequently). We all were staying at Hotel James Court, Central London. It was around 8.30 am and in my capacity as coordinator of the visit, I went over the suite where Mulayam Singh was staying to brief him about the events for the day. When I rung the bell, it was Amar Singh who opened the door. He was mid-way into shaving and he was pressing his chin with his left hand. He seems to have cut his chin. I wasn’t sure whether he knew me. He dispensed with any exchange of greetings and ‘ordered’ me to get some Dettol. Even before he could complete his sentence, I could see Mulayam Singh joining him asking me to do the same. I immediately rushed down to get some first aid for the ‘injured’.
Right through the stay in London as also during the visit Birmingham, Amar Singh stuck to Mulayam Singh like a shadow.
My next brush with Amar Singh happened in 2005 when I took over as Managing Director, Pradeshik Investment Corporation of UP (PICUP). After having been one of the finest performing State Financial Corporations in the country, this PSU was now in serious trouble. It had incurred losses for seven consecutive years. I had made an effort to revive the entity and it was well on its way to recovery. This strategy also entailed enforcing recovery from defaulters. Amar Singh had by now not only become an MP but also assumed to role of right-hand man of Mulayam Singh Yadav who had once again become the Chief Minister of the state. He rang me up not to enforce recovery against a particular individual. My inquiries had revealed that this gentleman had siphoned off the loan amount and was living in luxury himself. The unit for which he had taken loan had become sick and the amount due could not be recovered from the entity. Fortunately for PICUP, the loan had personal guarantee of the promoter. Hence, I saw it as opportunity to enforce the guarantee and recover the amount from him.
Normally Amar Singh’s writ ran right through the state but in this case, I was not relenting. He rang me up again and threatened me. However, I was still in no mood to relent. He then complained to the Chief Minister in the presence of the Chief Secretary who later informed me about the incident. Normally in all such cases, the concerned officer was transferred. The Chief Secretary was surprised that in this particular case, the Chief Minister gave no such order. Later, The Chief Minister called me for a discussion. I had always found it difficult to decipher what he spoke on account of his accent and the speed with which he spoke. I could just discern the name of Amar Singh. Assuming that it was about the PICUP related case, I briefly told him the facts of the case and how I was attempting to revive this sick organizing. I could vaguely make out that he was complimenting for what I was doing at PICUP but asked me to have a word with Amar Singh. On this instance, I disobeyed his directives and never spoke to Amar Singh who was furious with me. Despite this, I was surprised when I stayed on at PICUP and got transferred much later when a ‘smart’ Chief Secretary managed to kick me upwards.
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I had the mortification to witness from the fence how Amar Singh ran and ruined governance in the state. New Okhla Industrial Authority (NOIDA) was the milch cow for most of the politicians. Amar Singh made it into an art form. No major, and, on occasions, even minor decision could be taken without his approval. I distinctly recall an instance when I had requested the Chief Executive Officer of NOIDA to resolve a genuine issue. He agreed that the grievance was a genuine one yet he advised me to convey to the concerned person that he should speak to Amar Singh. There was obviously a cost associated with such an endorsement. He misbehaved with many senior civil servants and his views about some of them are available in the infamous “Amar Singh Recording” that was for some peculiar reason banned for publication by the Supreme Court though it was otherwise easily available.
