After lying low for some time,Beni Prasad Verma Monday returned to what had kept him in the headlines: attacking Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Only this time he levelled perhaps the gravest allegation yet against his former friend and leader. Mulayam Singh Yadav can get me killed anytime, Verma said. No other leader from the Congress is speaking against him except me. Beni Prasad targets Narendra Modi: Don't let a mad dog pollute temple of democracy Then he ventured into familiar territory. Uttar Pradesh is burning. BJP and SP have joined hands. What is the central government doing? the Union Steel Minister said,referring to the communal riots in Muzaffarnagar. The Centre must act tough,he added,or else it cannot escape the blame if UP is destroyed. And not just the BJP,some Congress leaders are also hand in glove with Mulayam,Verma said,echoing his remarks in June this year that some of his partymen had even funded SP candidates to ensure the defeat of Congress nominees. Mulayam has cheated minorities: Beni Prasad The remarks had invited a stern warning from the Congress to not go public with such allegations,as also the vitriolic attacks against Mulayam. Yet,a month later,Verma shot off his mouth again: Mulayam,he said,nursed the ambition to become prime minister though he was not fit even to sweep the prime ministers residence. His party elders regretted the remarks and again ticked Verma off. This time though,his attack followed Congress scathing criticism of the SP government for its handling of the Muzaffarnagar riots. He said Sundays violence in Meerut was sponsored jointly by the BJP and the SP. How else could a mob of 20,000 gather there despite prohibitory orders? People had been brought from Maharashtra and Gujarat to fuel the tension,he claimed. Verma also reiterated that some Congress leaders had been fixed by the SP government. There is a reason,he argued,that Sonia Gandhi has said it is the Congress which causes the defeat of the Congress. Reacting to Vermas latest outburst,Congress spokesman Sandeep Dikshit said the party had told the minister that if has any complaints,he should air it in the party fora.
