Senior Cabinet minister from Uttar Pradesh Beni Prasad Verma believes that Rs. 71 lakh is too small an amount for any Central minister to embezzle. 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."