The Congress has downplayed remarks made by the Union Minister for Steel, Beni Prasad Verma, on the BSP being a better option for an alliance partner than the Samajwadi Party.
UP Congress state president, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, told CNN-IBN that Verma’s views were personal and that whenever a decision for a political alliance in the state is taken, it will be by the party’s high command.
“As far as our views about the Mayawati government is concerned, not once but a 100 times… we have voiced our view about the bad governance the Mayawati government has given to the state,” she told reporters Sunday night.
Beni Prasad Verma had earlier pitched for the BSP over the SP.
“Whenever a political decision has to be taken, it is the high command that will take it. What Mr Beni Prasad Verma has said is his individual view,” she said.
Verma had earlier said: “The Congress will form the government. If we have to take support, the BSP is a better party than the SP — which is a party that indulges in goondaism,” he told CNN-IBN.
He was also quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying, “(BSP chief) Mayawati is thousand times better than Mulayam Singh Yadav as she has been able to bring down the crime rate in the state in the last five years. The Congress should think about forging an alliance with the BSP.”
Verma is not known for his judiciousness in speech. He has earlier called Manmohan Singh “old” saying “there is a limit to keep on working” and that Rahul Gandhi should be the one to become PM next.
He also irked the Election Commission by violating the code of conduct and then defying it by saying that the commission may send him a notice but the party will still provide reservation if it comes to power.
Verma is an former member of the Samajwadi Party. He joined the Congress in 2009 before the Lok Sabha polls.
Watch CNN-IBN video here.
