New Delhi:
Cabinet minister from Uttar Pradesh Beni Prasad Verma believes that Rs. 71 lakh is too small an amount for any Central minister to embezzle.
(Watch)Mr Verma offered this opinion today as he defended Law Minister Salman Khurshid whose NGO in Uttar Pradesh has been accused of siphoning Rs. 71 lakh meant to help differently-abled people in the state. "I believe Salman Khurshid could not have embezzled Rs. 71 lakh," he said, "Rs. 71 lakh is a very small amount for a Central minister. I would have taken it seriously if the amount was Rs. 71 crore."
(Beni Prasad's bizarre defence: Comment here)Hours later, Mr Verma, who is the steel minister, said he had been misquoted. "Corruption is corruption, even if it is for one rupee," he said. He pointed out that if Mr Khurshid had anything to hide, he would not have asked for an inquiry into the alleged financial violations of his NGO. And then he repeated, "Salman Khurshid is a big personality... he won't do this for 71 lakhs."
The allegations against Mr Khurshid were made first by a Hindi news channel last week, then repeated by activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal, who got some unsolicited advice today from Mr Verma, who is the Steel Minister. "I wish him good luck," said Mr Verma of Mr Kejriwal's new and as-yet-unchristened political party. "My advice to him is don't bark day and night... roar once in a while. Those who roar once in a while are looked upon as tigers."
Mr Kejriwal has been demanding the Law Minister's resignation, who has denounced the charges against him and has sued the Hindi channel that first made the allegations for Rs. 200 crore in the Bombay High Court, along with other defamation suits in Delhi and London.
The Uttar Pradesh government has commissioned an inquiry against Mr Khurshid's NGO.