Beni Prasad Verma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member Of Parliament Rajya Sabha[1] | |
| In office 5 July 2016 – 27 March 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Jugul Kishore |
| Succeeded by | Jai Prakash Nishad |
| Constituency | Uttar Pradesh |
| Minister of Steel | |
| In office 19 January 2011 – 26 May 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Virbhadra Singh |
| Succeeded by | Narendra Singh Tomar |
| Member of Parliament Lok Sabha | |
| In office 2009 – 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Kirti Vardhan Singh |
| Succeeded by | Kirti Vardhan Singh |
| Constituency | Gonda |
| In office 1996 – 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Laxminarain Mani Tripathi |
| Succeeded by | Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh |
| Constituency | Kaiserganj |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1941-02-11)11 February 1941 Barabanki,United Provinces,British India |
| Died | 27 March 2020(2020-03-27) (aged 79) Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh,India |
| Political party |  Samajwadi Party |
| Spouse | Malti Devi |
| Children | 5 |
| Residence(s) | Sirauli Gauspur,Barabanki district |
| Source:[1] | |
Beni Prasad Verma (11 February 1941 – 27 March 2020) was an Indian politician and a founding member of theSamajwadi Party.[2] A prominent member of the Samajwadi Party, he later joinedIndian National Congress and was elected on its ticket to Lok Sabha in 2009. In 2016 he rejoined the Samajwadi Party.
Verma was born inBarabanki,Uttar Pradesh into aKurmi family.[3][4] He had three sons and two daughters.[2][5]
_for_Steel%2c_Shri_Beni_Prasad_Verma_inaugurated_the_NCR_Corporate_Centre_of_Hindustan_Steelworks_Construction_Limited%2c_in_New_Delhi_on_March_03%2c_2011.jpg)
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 inDeve Gowda's cabinet from 1996 to 1998.
He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998, 1999 and 2004 fromKaiserganj constituency seat. In 2009, he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha fromGonda constituency inUttar Pradesh state as anIndian National Congress candidate and on July-12-2011 was appointed the Steel Minister inManmohan Singh Government. In 2016, he rejoined the Samajwadi Party.[6][7]
Beni Prasad Verma has established educational institutions Chaudhary Charan Singh Mahavidyalaya at Bardari near Badosarai and Mohanlal Verma Educational Institute in his home district ofBarabanki.[8]
Verma died on 27 March 2020.[2] Political leaders includingNarendra Modi,Keshav Prasad Maurya,Akhilesh Yadav and others shared condolences.[9][10][11]
_for_Steel%2c_Shri_Beni_Prasad_Verma_addressing_at_the_inauguration_of_the_Steel_Summit-2011%2c_in_New_Delhi_on_February_25%2c_2011.jpg)
In 1997, Beni Prasad Verma criticizedB. R. Ambedkar in aLucknow rally by saying "Ambedkar did nothing else except create trouble forGandhiji."[12][13]
In December 2009 during a debate session inLok Sabha, Beni Prasad had remarked formerPrime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee as "man of low standard". In the same statement, Verma had also criticizedL. K. Advani.[14] This created serious agitation amongBJP 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.[15]
In February 2012, during theUttar Pradesh elections Verma daredEC to arrest him, saying quota for Muslims will be hiked.[16] Verma said this while addressing a rally at Kaimganj in the presence ofCongress general secretaryDigvijay Singh and Unionlaw andminority affairs ministerSalman Khurshid.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 inBarabanki, 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.[17]
On 15 October 2012, he made a controversial remark that "I believeSalman Khurshid 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.[18]
On 13 December 2012, he opposed hanging of Afzal Guru. He said: "Do not hangAfzal Guru but give him life imprisonment".[19]
In December 2013, when he asked aboutKumar Vishwas standing againstRahul Gandhi in the election from Rahul Gandhi's home placeAmethi 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."[20]
In 2014, he criticised the then PM candidateNarendra Modi by saying "We need a future prime minister, not a man-eater". AnFIR was filed against Verma for this statement.[5][21]
In 2016, he blamedRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for assassination ofMahatma Gandhi 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."[22]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister of Steel 19 Jan 2011 – 26 May 2014 | Succeeded by |
| Department of Telecommunications |
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Preceding Ministry:Ministry of Communications and Information Technology | ||||||||||||||||||||
