Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Tuesday said he would not hesitate in advocating for a tie-up with Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party for Mainpuri seat to ensure defeat of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in the Lok Sabha elections.
"It will be difficult for Yadav to win from Mainpuri seat in the Lok Sahba polls. I will advocate for a tie-up on the seat with the BSP to defeat him," Verma told reporters here.
The Congress leader alleged that the SP and the Bharatiya Janata Party have a tacit agreement and the demolition of Babri mosque in Ayodhya was a result of the friendship between L K Advani and Yadav.
"The SP and the BJP are two sides of a coin... I also became a fool for 20 years to have aligned with the SP," Verma said. Taking potshots at the SP government in the state for being corrupt, Verma alleged it had failed on all the fronts and development was not on its agenda.
About the incident in Bahraich on Monday, where he was shown black flags, Verma said it was a pre-planned attempt to create hurdle in development work.
"I was there to inaugurate a steel processing unit, which would give direct employment to over 300 people. Over 15-20 SP men started shouting slogans and waving black flags when I started speaking. It is undemocratic. There are other ways to vent their protest," Verma said.
Alleging that the state was reeling under power crisis due to the lackadaisical attitude of the SP government, Verma wondered whether there were any efforts made by the government to overcome the problem.
"Power plant is in the offing in Jagdishpur and Gonda. We have arranged money for the land in Gonda, but the state government could not provide land for it," Verma alleged.
On the state's laptop distribution scheme, Verma said it was useless as there was no power in rural areas. "Where will the students charge the laptops? It is a worthless scheme, over which Rs 3,000 crore is being spent, for rural areas, where there is no electricity," he said.
Trying to corner SP, Verma said terror suspect Khalid Mujahid was innocent.
"Mujahid and Tariq Kasmi were arrested for their involvement in court blasts. Nimesh Commission report has found them to be innocent but the SP government did nothing," he said.
He said the government gave the slain gram pradhan Nanhe Yadav's family, some of whom were recently arrested in connection with killing of Kunda Deputy Superintendent of Police Zia-ul-Haq, a cheque of Rs 20 lakh, while Mujahid's family was offered only Rs six lakh, which they later returned.
“The SP is taking votes from the people by just befooling them," the union steel minister said. Talking about BJP's Narendra Modi, Verma said, "no one can become prime minister after orchestrating massacre. The people can do their 'sanhar' (slaughter) but not let him do 'sanhar' of the democracy."
