Beni Prasad's defence of Khurshid embarrasses Congress

New Delhi: Seeking to defend his colleague, Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma today put his foot in his mouth saying a man like Salman Khurshid will not do any wrong for Rs 71 lakh, which is a “very small amount” for a Central Minister. He later said his statement had been misinterpreted.

“Salman Khurshid is a responsible person. He is a Central Minister. He was a Central Minister earlier as well. When he is saying there is no scam, he should be believed… I don’t think a person like Khurshid will do anything for an amount like Rs 71 lakh. It is a very small amount for a Central Minister,” he told reporters here.

Verma was commenting on the alleged misappropriation of funds by a trust run by Khurshid and his wife. In a press conference yesterday, Khurshid had rejected the allegation and had offered himself to any probe.

“If it would have been Rs 71 crore, even I would have been serious,” Verma said adding Khurshid should not resign from his current position.

Verma trained his guns on activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal who has been demanding the resignation of Khurshid on the issue.

“Kejriwal is going to launch a party. I have all the best wishes for him. India has a multi-party system and one more will come. It’s good. But, I have a piece of advice for him: Don’t bark day in day out, try sometimes to roar like a tiger. Those who always bark are of no value,” Verma said.

The minister later said that his statement had been misinterpreted and he did not endorse corruption in any way.

“Corruption of even one rupee is corruption and should be taken seriously,” he told Times Now.

Verma also said that he did not believe someone like Salman Khurshid could indulge in corruption.

“I don’t think people like a man like Salman Khurshid would indulge in a scam like this for Rs 71 lakh,”  he said, adding that the Law Minister wouldn’t have gone to court if he wasn’t sure of his innocence.

The Congress party also chose to dodge questions regarding Verma’s unexpected defence of his ministerial colleague.

“It is not about how much the scam amount is but whether there is any basis to the allegations being levelled,” party spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit said

Incidentally, Beni Prasad has hit the limelight in the past as well for equally puzzling statements. He has recently claimed that high inflation was good for the people , a comment which drew a lot of brickbats. He had also been questioned by the election commission for promising a sub-quota for minorities during the Uttar Pradesh poll campaigning.

with inputs from PTI