Amar, party MPs enjoy UPA hospitality at 'supporters' dinner

New Delhi, Aug 23 (UNI) Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh and almost all other MPs of his party turned up as ''supporters of the UPA government'' at a dinner hosted last night by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at which UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was also present.

''The weather was pleasant. There was an exchange of 'Namaskar' between Mr Amar Singh and Ms Gandhi,'' an SP MP who attended the dinner told UNI.

The SP general Secretary's relations with Ms Gandhi had soured of late on the phone tapping and the Office of Profit issue.

''It was a buffet. We picked up the food, and took our place. The Prime Minister came to us for five minutes and exchanged greetings,'' he said.

The SP MPs had been invited as supporters of the UPA government, he said but denied that any politics was discussed with UPA leaders.

Besides Mr Singh, other SP MPs who attended the dinner included Mr Ram Gopal yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Mr Saleem Sherwani and Mr Shahid Siddiqui among others.

The Bahujan Samaj Party MPs had also been invited to the dinner.

The Left MPs included CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan.

Incidentally, one of the UPA allies, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) had quit the alliance earlier in the day.

UNI NAZ MIR RAI1907