Zee Media Bureau
Lucknow: Congress leader Beni Verma Prasad, who has repeatedly taken potshots at Mulayam Singh Yadav in the past, is expected to join the Samajwadi Party, which is in power in Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking to Zee Media, SP leader Naresh Agarwal said that Beni, who was once a member of his party, may return to the party fold in the coming days.
It would be interesting to see how Beni is accommodated in the SP as the one-time friend-turned -adversary has criticised the SP supremo a number of times. The former Union minister had compared Mulayam with Italian dictator Mussolini. While taking a dig at Mulayam`s PM ambitions, the Congress leader had once said, “They are dreaming about becoming the PM. But they are not fit enough to get even a sweeper`s job at the Prime Minister`s residence."
Meanwhile, Verma today rejected all speculations of him joining the SP saying that he doesn`t believes in indulging in politics of greed.
Earlier on Sunday, the former Union minister had termed the reports of his joining ruling SP as a conspiracy and did not rule out involvement of someone from his Congress party.
"A section of the media is showing speculative news regarding me joining SP, which I outrightly reject. There is no question of my son Rakesh joining the SP either," Beni told reporters at his residence. “Such rumours were being spread as a part of a conspiracy and possibility of involvement of some person from Congress could not be ruled out,” he further said.
"This is true that I was with the SP for 30 years, but I left the party due to acts of its supremo. Now I am in Congress and will die under the tricolour," Beni said. Verma lost to BJP candidate from Gonda constituency in the Lok Sabha polls.
Verma said Congress has become weak and the process started with the demolition of disputed structure at Ayodhya. "At that time, Muslims went with the SP and with emergence of BSP, Dalit voters got associated with it," Verma said.
The former Union minister said Congress has to struggle and move forward, and it has to create its social base. He said that Yadav and Dalits were disenchanted with SP and BSP respectively and Congress should take advantage of this.
