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

Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; translation: ''Socialist Party'', founded 4 October 1992) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India, headquartered in New Delhi but mainly based in Uttar Pradesh, with significant presence in other states as w ...

. Earlier he was with Samajwadi Party of

Mulayam Singh Yadav Mulayam Singh Yadav (22 November 1939 – 10 October 2022) was an Indian politician, a socialist figure and the founder of the Samajwadi Party. In the course of his political career spanning more than six decades, he served for three terms as ...

, then he joined

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

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

Personal life

Verma was born in

Barabanki Barabanki is a city and a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is administrative headquarters of Barabanki district. The city is about 30 km east of Lucknow, the state capital. It has a population of 146,831 with a dens ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

into a

Kurmi Kurmi is traditionally a non-elite tiller caste in the lower Gangetic plain of India, especially southern regions of Awadh, eastern Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar. The Kurmis came to be known for their exceptional work ethic, superior tilla ...

family.

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 Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda (; born 18 May 1933 in) is an Indian politician from the state of Karnataka. He served as the List of Prime Ministers of India, 11th Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1 June 1996 to 21 Apri ...

's cabinet from 1996–98. 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 (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

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

Views

Beni Prasad Verma criticized

B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...

by saying "Ambedkar did nothing else except create trouble for

Gandhiji Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

." In December 2009 during a debate session in

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

, Beni Prasad had made controversial remarks for Former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Mr.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

, he used "man of low stands" for Mr. Vajpayee. This created serious agitation among

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

leaders protested immediately by shouting, they stalled parliament and demanded an apology. Home Minister

P Chidambaram Palaniappan Chidambaram (born 16 September 1945), better known as P. Chidambaram, is an Indian politician and lawyer who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee ...

apologized for the remark, but the BJP said it would boycott the Lok Sabha till Verma apologises, But Verma refused to apologise. On the next day, the then prime minister had apologised in the parliament for the controversial remark against the former prime minister. He said, "A member of our ruling coalition said something that was inappropriate; with regard to Vajpayee those words were used. I on behalf of our government apologise that those words should not have been used." 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 a ...

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,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and minority affairs minister

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

. 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

, 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 made a remark that "Do not hang

Afzal Guru Mohammad Afzal Guru (June 1969 – 9 February 2013) was a Kashmiri separatist, who was convicted for his role in the 2001 Indian Parliament attack. He received a death sentence for his involvement, which was upheld by the Indian Supreme Co ...

but give him life imprisonment". In December 2013, when he asked about

Kumar Vishwas Kumar Vishwas (born Vishwas Kumar Sharma; 10 February 1970) is an Indian Hindi poet, politician, and a lecturer. He was a founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and a former member of its National Executive. Life and career Vishwas was ...

standing against

Rahul Gandhi Rahul Gandhi ( ; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian Parliament, representing the constituency of Wayanad, Kerala in the 17th Lok Sabha. A member of the Indian National Congress, he served as the president of ...

in the election from Rahul Gandhi's home place

Amethi Amethi is a city situated in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is a major town of the Amethi district, in the Faizabad division. The Hanumangarhi temple is located in the heart of the town. Amethi was the 72 nd district of Uttar Pradesh w ...

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 2016, he blamed

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family" ...

(RSS) for assassination of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Verma, Beni Prasad 1941 births 2020 deaths Indian National Congress politicians 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 Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India