Rs 71 lakh too small an amount for a Union minister: Beni Prasad Verma’s defence

New Delhi, 15 Oct 2012 (TNN): Union steel minister Beni Prasad Verma has sparked controversy with his remarks that were an attempt at defending Union law minister Salman Khurhid in connection with corruption allegations made by activist Arvind Kejriwal.

 

It is a bizarre remark, Beni Brasad Verma said Rs 71 lakh was too small an amount for misappropriation by a Union minister of the stature of Salman Khurshid and that if it was a bigger amount the matter could have been serious.

 

Speaking to reporters on the ongoing expose done by India Against Corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal, Beni Prasad said, "I believe that Salman Khurshid would never do a scam of Rs 71 lakh. That’s because Rs 71 lakh is a very small amount. Had it been Rs 71 crore, I would take it seriously."

 

When asked whether the law minister should resign, Prasad said, "Absolutely not. That’s why I said that people like Kejriwal, who are launching a party shouldn’t keep barking day and night. They should roar sometimes. Those who bark all day and night are counted in very small people."

 

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal, who called off his agitation at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday, and said that he would take the protest against Salman Khurshid to the latter’s constituency Farrukhabad.

 

Kejriwal said that he would start a campaign against Khurshid in Farrukhabad and urge the people to field a differently-abled candidate against him in the 2014 elections.

 

"We are suspending our agitation, not closing it. We will go to villages and continue the fight. We will take our fight to every village of Farrukhabad," Kejriwal told his supporters here.

 

Kejriwal also hit out at steel minister Beni Prasad for his bizarre remark that Rs 71 lakh is a very small amount for a minister, and said that this shows the arrogance of the UPA government.

 

"I had hoped that since Khurshid is the law minister, there would be some action. But we have been protesting for four weeks and the government still supports him and says there is no need for a probe," said Kejriwal.

 

Salman Khurshid had earlier strongly rebutted the charges made against him and his wife Louise by a private media group of misappropriation of funds allotted to their NGO.

 

Addressing a press conference along with his wife Louise here on Sunday, Khurshid asserted that the camps for the disabled, organised by his Dr Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, were held at different places in Uttar Pradesh.

 

Khurshid showed pictures of camps organized for the differently-abled persons in various places to refute allegations that the camps had not really been held.

 

He also showed a picture of an officer whose signatures were claimed to be forged by the Trust, attending one such camp.

 

Khurshid said that after the trust approached the CAG regarding the comments against the NGO in its draft report, CAG asked them to furnish relevant documents and assured that their final report would be made only after consideration of such proof.