Sonia pacifies SP chief over Beni

In a deft political gesture, Congress president Sonia Gandhi reached out to Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday over the remarks made by Central minister Beni Prasad Verma that have left the SP fuming. The SP, however, remained adamant on its demand that the Congress leader be sacked from the Union Cabinet for his allegedly derogatory remarks against their party leader. Mr Yadav has, in fact, called a meeting of his party’s parliamentary board on Thursday morning to discuss the matter. Sources said the SP is keeping all options on the table to force the Congress to sack Mr Verma who was once a close associate of Mr Yadav. While the SP chief refused to comment on the regret expressed by Mr Verma on Wednesday, he said he has convened a meeting of party MPs where their views would be heard before deciding on the next course of action. During the day, Mr Yadav also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and held parleys with the NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Also part of the political dynamics on Wednesday over the Beni Prasad remarks was the BJP which sought to seize the opportunity of the SP being miffed with the Congress to drive a wedge between the two. Sushma Swaraj, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha took up cudgels on behalf of Mulayam Singh Yadav in the House saying that Beni Prasad Verma had tarnished the image of the SP chief who is “a respected leader of the House”. She further said that Mr Verma should either apologise or resign as minister. She also said that Mr Verma had committed a breach of privilege and the matter should be referred to the Privileges Committee of the House.