Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma raked a huge controversy on Monday by saying that Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had links with terrorists.
While speaking in the Lok Sabha, Verma said that SP fought the Gujarat Assembly polls after 2002 riots along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and helped Narendra Modi come to power.
Follwing the comment there was a major uproar in the Lok Sabha with SP MPs demanding that Beni be sacked from the Union Cabinet.
"Who is Mulayam to ask for my removal? Has he made me the minister? He should apologise, for he has betrayed the nation," Beni said in reply to their demands.
"For me, terrorism has no religion, no colour. The demolition of Babri Masjid and the post-Godhra riots are also terrorist incidents. "But he (Mulayam) joined hands with those who demolished Babri Masjid, like Kalyan Singh. His party also helped BJP to win in Gujarat," the minister said.
Verma, a friend-turned-foe of Yadav, has often found himself at the centre of controversies over his remarks.
First Published: Monday, March 18, 2013, 13:56