New Delhi: Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma has once again lashed out against the Samajwadi Party, which continues to keep the Congress-led UPA alliance on tenterhooks.
The minister, who triggered a political furore recently when he accused SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav of having “links with terrorists”, has now said that the SP will win only four seats in the next general elections and that there will be a funeral procession for the party.
Mr Verma also hinted that the Congress should warm up to BSP chief Mayawati. The minister believes the BSP will win big in UP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections – he predicts it will win 36 seats.
When Mr Verma had first attacked Mr Yadav, the SP made its fury clear by disrupting Parliament repeatedly, demanding an apology from the minister and his removal from the Cabinet. Mr Verma was reprimanded by his party following which he had said, “I am sorry if my remarks have hurt anybody’s sentiments.” But soon after, he attacked Mr Yadav and his party again and said, “Those who are serving the interest of their family cannot be termed as socialists.”
The UPA government relies heavily on the SP’s crucial external support of 22 MPs in the Lok Sabha, especially after the DMK pulled out of the ruling alliance earlier this month. Over the past week, Mr Yadav has made several statements to indicate that he could be rethinking that support. In the recent past, he has also repeatedly told his partymen to be ready for early elections.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh admitted there was the possibility that Samajawadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav might pull the rug from under the UPA government, but also said he was confident his government would complete its full term.
Yesterday, Finance Minister P Chidambaram offered an olive branch to the Yadavs – he praised Akhilesh’s governance skills and promised to consider allocating more funds to UP. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister in return said that his party would not pull support for the central government — for now — so that ‘communal forces’ could be kept at bay.
