The Rajya Sabha member was not keeping well for the past few days and was admitted to a private hospital in Lucknow, where he died around 7 pm.
Union minister Beni Prasad Verma was on Monday at the centre of a controversy with remarks that he was "happy" over rising prices of food items as it will benefit farmers, evoking a sharp attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party and other parties.
Former Union minister Beni Prasad Verma on Friday quit the Congress and rejoined the Samajwadi Party, a move which is likely to shore up the SP's prospects in the 2017 assembly polls.
A day after being reprimanded, Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Thursday said he felt "humiliated" and threatened to quit the Congress if he was stopped from "fighting" against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Union minister for Steel Beni Prasad Verma and his son Rakesh Verma have been reportedly booked for attempt to murder. The complaint was filed against them by Shiv Shankar Shukla, an aspirant for a Congress party ticket for the forthcoming state assembly election from Barabanki, about 35 km from Lucknow.
Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma was on Tuesday granted personal hearing by the Election Commission to explain his minorities sub-quota remarks for which the poll body slapped a notice and he is likely to appear on Friday.
Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Monday went about doling out cash and gifts to Congressmen and journalists in Uttar Pradesh to apparently ensure their allegiance to him before the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma, who has been attacking Mulayam Singh Yadav, on Monday hit out at at the SP leader over communal violence in Uttar Pradesh and claimed there was threat to his life as he was the only Congress leader speaking against Mulayam.
Coming under the Election Commission scanner for his remarks on minorities sub-quota, Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Monday replied to the poll body notice pleading not guilty to violation of model code of conduct.
Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma has been in news for his statement "inflation helps farmers". He talks about why he stands by his statement and how FDI in retail would set right prices for both agriculturalists and consumers.
The war of words between the Samajwadi Party and Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma war turned personal on Sunday with SP leader Shivpal Yadav accusing the Union Minister of smuggling opium and using charas.
Samajwadi Party activists raised slogans and clashed with Congress workers during the foundation stone laying ceremony of a processing unit of the Steel Authority of India by Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma. The Union minister laid the foundation stone of Rs 100 crore steel processing unit at Godani Basahi village in Risia area on Monday evening.
Factionalism in Congress came to the fore on Wednesday with Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma terming party MP from Barabanki P L Punia as an "outsider" though the party downplayed it and termed it as media creation.
Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma, who was ticked off by the Congress after his comments against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav created a controversy, on Tuesday said he will continue to remain in the party and is not resigning from the Cabinet.
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has come under attack by Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma, on Friday advised him to learn some decorum as the way in which he was talking is not Congress culture.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday demanded a high-level inquiry into Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav's allegations of opium smuggling and using charas against Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma. "Shivpal Yadav is a senior (state) cabinet minister and if he has levelled allegations against the union minister, he must have done it responsibly. A high-level inquiry should be conducted into the matter," said state BJP chief spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak.
Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma has kicked up another controversy by stating that nothing was wrong in spending Rs 2 to 4 crores on media as he was only "investing money to get good returns" in terms of publicity.
The Election Commission on Saturday issued notice to Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma over his remarks on sub-quota for minorities, holding that prima facie it was a violation of the Model Code of Conduct and sought his reply by Monday evening.
An FIR has been registered against Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma in Balrampur for calling Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi the "biggest goonda" of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and party's National President Rajnath Singh his "slave".
Let's take a look at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's new team:
Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma, who has been censured by the Election Commission for his insulting remarks against Narendra Modi, has stoked a fresh controversy by comparing the BJP prime ministerial candidate to a "monster".
More politicians are getting "Z-plus" security and the new entrants include Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma and Bahujan Samaj Party MP Brajesh Pathak months after the list of VIPs in this category was pruned during P Chidambaram's tenure as home minister.
Mr Verma argued that higher prices for agricultural goods meant more gains for India's farmers and, therefore, he was happy with such inflation.
Amidst threat by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to bring no-confidence motion against the UPA government in the winter session of Parliament, Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Monday said that the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party would continue to support it.
The Election Commission is examining whether Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma's remarks on the minorities sub-quota daring the poll body during a rally in Farrukhabad last night were a violation of the model code of conduct.
Noticing irregularities in coking coal purchases, the Steel Ministry has set up a committee to look into the rationale behind PSUs buying more of the commodity when it is expensive, and less of it when cheaper.
The reshuffle in the Union Cabinet, carried out on Wednesday, appears to have some focus on assembly election-bound states like Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.
New members of the Union Council of Ministers, including Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo, were introduced to both Houses of Parliament by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday. Dr Singh also introduced Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, who were recently inducted as Cabinet ministers, to members of both Houses.
Senior Congress leaders have realised their work is being monitored by secretary-level functionaries who report to Rahul Gandhi.
An equal joint venture agreement between state-run SAIL and South Korean major Posco is likely to be inked during Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma's proposed visit to Korea starting November 5.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday complained to the Election Commission against Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma's remarks on minority sub quota, asking the poll body to book him for allegedly violating the model code of conduct. A BJP delegation comprising Jagat Prakash Nadda, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Shahnawaz Hussain, along with R Ramakrishna, convener of the party's election cell, met Chief Election Commissioner S Y Qureshi and ECs V S Sampath and H S Brahma.
Lashing out at Beni Prasad Verma's rationale, BJP accuse Cong of turning blind eye to common man being hit by inflation.
"Salman Khurshid is a responsible person. He is a central minister. He was a central minister earlier as well. When he is saying there is no scam, he should be believed... I don't think a person like Khurshid will do anything for an amount like Rs 71 lakh. It is a very small amount for a central minister," he told media persons in New Delhi.
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.
Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Saturday alleged that the rallies addressed by Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi in Uttar Pradesh were "fixed", adding that speeches of both the leaders were scripted by Amit Shah.
Notwithstanding Congress' reprimand, Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Saturday intensified his attack on his friend-turned foe Mulayam Singh Yadav accusing him of conniving with the Bharatiya Janata Party to flare up communal passions and dared the Samajwadi Party leader to a public debate on Babri issue.
Claiming that neither the Congress nor the Bharatiya Janata Party would gain majority in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday said the Third Front would form the government at the Centre and his party would "play a key role".
Political battles were decided not in boxing rings but in the court of the people, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah said in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, responding to Samajwadi Party's counter to Narendra Modi's "56 inch chest" remarks.
Nitish Kumar has to make an existential choice: Between governance and politics, argues Aditi Phadnis.
