Beni Prasad Verma (11 February 1941 – 27 March 2020) was an Indian politician and a founding member of the

Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...

. A prominent member of the Samajwadi Party, he later joined

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and was elected on its ticket to Lok Sabha in 2009. In 2016 he rejoined the Samajwadi Party.

Personal life

Verma was born in Barabanki,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

into a Kurmi family. He had three sons and two daughters.

Political career

Beni Prasad Verma was the steel Minister of the Indian Government. He was the Public Works Department minister for the State of Uttar Pradesh in India for several years. He served as the Union Communications Minister in Deve Gowda's cabinet from 1996 to 1998. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998, 1999 and 2004 from Kaiserganj constituency seat. In 2009, he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Gonda constituency in

state as an

candidate and on July-12-2011 was appointed the Steel Minister in

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

Government. In 2016, he rejoined the Samajwadi Party.

Educational institutes

Beni Prasad Verma has established educational institutions Chaudhary Charan Singh Mahavidyalaya at Bardari near Badosarai and Mohanlal Verma Educational Institute in his home district of Barabanki.

Death

Verma died on 27 March 2020. Political leaders including

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

, Keshav Prasad Maurya,

Akhilesh Yadav Akhilesh Yadav (; born 1 July 1973) is an Indian politician and national president of the Samajwadi Party who served as the 20th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Having assumed the chief minister's office on 15 March 2012 at the age of 38, he ...

and others shared condolences.

Views

In 1997, Beni Prasad Verma criticized B. R. Ambedkar in a

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

rally by saying "Ambedkar did nothing else except create trouble for Gandhiji." In December 2009 during a debate session in

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

, Beni Prasad had remarked former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...

as "man of low standard". In the same statement, Verma had also criticized L. K. Advani. This created serious agitation among BJP leaders protested immediately by shouting, they stalled parliament and demanded an apology and said it would boycott the Lok Sabha till Verma apologises. Verma refused to apologise for the statement. In February 2012, during the

elections Verma dared EC to arrest him, saying quota for Muslims will be hiked. Verma said this while addressing a rally at Kaimganj in the presence of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

general secretary Digvijay Singh and Union

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and minority affairs minister

Salman Khurshid Salman Khurshid Alam Khan (born 1 January 1953) is an Indian politician, designated senior advocate, author and law teacher. He was the Cabinet Minister of the Ministry of External Affairs. He is a member of the Indian National Congress who wa ...

. Earlier, Khurshid created a controversy by stating that he would continue to speak on nine percent sub-quota for Muslims even if the Election Commission says it's against the guideline to promise such a thing during the elections. On 19 August 2012 he made a remark in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh that "With the increasing price levels, the farmers are benefitting. Dal, atta, vegetables have all become expensive. I am happy with this price rise. The more the prices rise the better it is for farmers," the minister said . On 15 October 2012, he made a controversial remark that "I believe

could not have embezzled Rs 71 lakh. It is a very small amount for a central minister. I would have taken it seriously if the amount was Rs 71 crore." The Times of India said his statements are grossly ill-timed and ill-phrased. On 13 December 2012, he opposed hanging of Afzal Guru. He said: "Do not hang Afzal Guru but give him life imprisonment". In December 2013, when he asked about Kumar Vishwas standing against Rahul Gandhi in the election from Rahul Gandhi's home place Amethi he said, "what will he fight, how will he fight. He is nothing but a joker. There are so many jokers already, he can join them." In 2014, he criticised the then PM candidate

by saying "We need a future prime minister, not a man-eater". An

FIR Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

was filed against Verma for this statement. In 2016, he blamed

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...

(RSS) for assassination of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

and added that "When Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, RSS workers were told in advance to keep their radio sets on for they will get to hear good news."

References

External links

*
Detailed profile: Beni Prasad Verma
in India.gov.in website 1941 births 2020 deaths Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party politicians People from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh United Progressive Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Members of the Cabinet of India Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2009–2014 People from Gonda district People from Bahraich district Steel ministers of India {{Commons category, Beni Prasad Verma