Can resign if party becomes an obstacle in my fight against Mulayam, says Minister
Adopting a belligerent mood, Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Thursday denied he had expressed regret for criticising Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and threatened to resign if stopped from fighting the SP chief. Beni's revolt come amid speculation he may be planning to join hands with BSP chief Mayawati.
"After the statements, which have been published in newspapers today, I felt humiliated. I am not in politics for chair or to become a Minister. I believe in values... I can quit the Congress any time or it can remove me... I can tender my resignation if the Congress becomes an obstacle in my fight with Yadav," Beni said.
He was reacting to AICC general secretary incharge of Uttar Pradesh Madhusudan Mistry's statement on Wednesday that he had expressed regret after being warned for saying that the SP chief should "first try to get the job of a sweeper at the residence of the PM if he is nursing ambitions of becoming the Prime Minister".
To prove his point, Beni once against flayed Mulayam and charged him with conniving with the BJP in the run up to the Babri Masjid demolition and said that a probe be initiated into the incidents on October 30, 1990.
He did not even hesitate to indirectly attack Mistry saying that there are "multiple centres of power" in the Congress. "There is no harm if there were even 10 centres of power but these should be just with an upright intention unlike Uttar Pradesh where various centres of power are indulging in loot and corruption," he said.
Beni said that he felt so humiliated by Mistry's public reprimand that he has sought time from Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the issue.
With the Minister adopting rebellious mood, the Congress went on damage control. In a change of stance, party sources said that Beni has not been stopped from criticising Mulayam. Instead he has been told not to use the harsh and denigrating language as it is against the Congress culture.
According to sources, party is aware that Beni is hobnobbing with BSP for some time. But the Congress high command would adopt a wait and watch policy and would not like to precipitate the matter at this juncture.
Aware of the speculation being rife that he is planning to join the BSP, Beni tried hard to dispel it. He said that he still felt that there is no other party than the Congress in the country which can rule this multi-lingual nation. The MP even claimed that he will not contest elections against the Congress even if he quits the party.
"I will contest lok Sabha elections on my own if I quit. But I will not oppose Congress," he said and praised Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
"The Congress is my choice only because its leadership is fair. I like the kind of politics being played by Sonia Gandhi. The country's future is safe in Rahul Gandhi's hands. It is my belief," he said.
However, Beni once again hit at Yadav and said that he would "never ever shake hands" with the SP chief. He alleged that BJP leader lK Advani had started a rath yatra stating that 'shilanyas' was to be performed at the disputed structure on October 30, 1990 while the "intention" was to demolish the disputed structure in connivance with the then Chief Minister (Yadav).
Referring to the police firing in Ayodhya in November 1990 when Yadav was the Chief Minister, Verma said it was unnecessary. He claimed that Yadav later visited the guest house where Advani was under detention. At the meeting it was decided that karsewaks would be permitted to perform darshan at the disputed site, Beni claimed.
But unlike in the past, the Samajwadi Party did not make it an issue this time. Instead of seeking Beni's reservation, the SP dismissed it as observations of an insane man.