Kalyan Singh's son Rajbir quits Samajwadi Party

LUCKNOW: Snubbed by Mulayam Singh Yadav, former Uttar Pradesh Chief minister Kalyan Singh on Sunday called the Samajwadi Party chief a "traitor" and indicated he was willing to rejoin BJP while his son Rajbir Singh resigned from SP.

"Mulayam is a traitor. He did not have the courage to accept defeat in the recent bypolls and is blaming me for it. I have committed many mistakes in my life and accepting the friendship with Mulayam was the biggest one," Kalyan Singh told reporters a day after the SP supremo dissociated himself with the former BJP leader.

Asked about his future political course and rejoining BJP, Kalyan said "all options are open".

"Mein RSS ka swayamsewak tha aur abhi bhi hun" (I was a worker of RSS and am still there)", the former BJP leader said while talking of strengthening Hindutva ideology.

He claimed both Mulayam and SP general secretary Amar Singh had visited his house in Delhi and Lucknow and wanted him to join the party but he declined the offer and would stick to his stand in future also.

"Mulayam is blaming me for the defeat in bypolls stating that Muslim voters drifted from SP. But I want to ask why 40 per cent voters did not vote for SP in Firozabad. Similarly, OBCs, Brahmins, Thakurs, Nishads and other castes did not vote for SP", Kalyan said asking Mulayam to introspect about the real cause behind SP's dismal performance in bypolls.

About BJP, Kalyan Singh said though there were "some problems" in the party with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat "taking its charge", BJP would "soon emerge stronger".

"I want to see a grand Ram Temple built in Ayodhya in my life. Neither Samajwadi Party nor Congress could do that. That is why there is a need to strengthen rashtravadi party, which is BJP".

Kalyan Singh, who gave enough indications of his interests to rejoining BJP appeared to be soft towards Samajwadi Party's national general secretary Amar Singh, though he called party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav a "traitor".

"I will not make any adverse comment against Amar Singh," Kalyan said when reporters asked his views about the leader.

Even after repeated questions on Amar, Kalyan said he had nothing to say about him.

During a press conference at his residence, old hoardings of Kalyan Singh with BJP chief Rajnath Singh and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were seen lying at a hall indicating his future 'plans'.