New Delhi:
Union Minister for Steel Beni Prasad Verma thought he was defending a colleague, when he said that no senior minister would embezzle "just 71 lakhs." Mr Verma, who is from Uttar Pradesh, said "If it were 71 crores, I would think it's serious."
The BJP expressed its acerbic thanks to Mr Verma today for sharing "the government's rate card for corruption." The party's spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, "So the rate is 71 crores and above for a central minister." He asked the Prime Minister to end what "his vow of silence" and address the proliferating charges of graft against his government.
Mr Verma tried to recover lost ground last evening by claiming that his remarks had been misinterpreted. "Corruption is corruption, even if it is for one rupee," he said.
His 71-lakh faux pas was made about Law Minister Salman Khurshid, who has been accused of embezzling 71 lakhs of funding given to his NGO in Uttar Pradesh by the central government. Mr Khurshid has emphatically denied the charges that his NGO forged documents to claim the money by falsely attesting that at camps across the state, equipment like hearing aids and crutches had been given to the differently-abled.
The allegations made against Mr Khurshid were raised first by a TV channel, which he has sued for more than 200 crores, and then by Arvind Kejriwal, who launched an anti-graft political party earlier this month. The Law Minister has said there is no question of him resigning, as demanded by Mr Kejriwal.