Amar hits out at FM, Deora again, says no deal for Cabinet berth

New Delhi, Jul 4 (UNI) Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh today vehemently denied that he had asked for the removal of Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Petroleum Minister Murli Deora as a condition for his party's support to the Congress over the nuclear deal.

''I am no wheeler dealer. I am not doing any deal for any Cabinet berth,'' said the SP leader while talking to reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.

He said he was not against Mr Chidamabaram or Mr Deora individually but against the management of their respective departments which were creating hardships for the common man.

The skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, coupled with sharp rise in the petroleum products had made it difficult for the commonman to make both ends meet.

The record inflation and the price rise were the issues on which the party would continue to oppose the government, said Mr Singh.

However, Mr Deora should mend himself and behave like a petroleum Minister instead of as a representative of private oil company, he added.

During the press conference after the UNPA meeting yesterday and earlier too, the SP leader had attacked the Finance Minister and the Petroleum Minister, which is being seen as an attempt to neutralise the Left critcism of preparing to support a party whose policies have led to hardship for the Common man.

UNI NAZ SB HT1644