Beni Prasad Verma, a founding member of Samajwadi Party, dies at 79
Verma, a former Union minister, had been suffering from age-related illnesses for a while.
Former Union minister and Samajwadi Party founding member Beni Prasad Verma died at a hospital in Lucknow on Friday, ANI reported. Verma, 79, had been suffering from age-related illnesses for a while.
The Samajwadi Party, confirming the death of its Rajya Sabha MP, offered condolences on Twitter:
समाजवादी पार्टी के वरिष्ठ नेता, राज्यसभा सांसद एवं पूर्व केंद्रीय मंत्री आदरणीय बेनी प्रसाद वर्मा जी एवं हम सबके प्रिय 'बाबू जी' जी का निधन अपूरणीय क्षति है। शोकाकुल परिजनों के प्रति संवेदना! शत-शत नमन एवं अश्रुपूर्ण श्रद्धांजलि।
— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) March 27, 2020
Verma had served as communications minister in the Union Cabinet of then Prime Minister HD Devegowda from 1996 to 1998. He also served as the minister for steel in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet in the second term of the United Progressive Alliance government.
In 2009, he left the Samajwadi Party and joined the Congress, but returned to the party’s fold in 2016. Verma was considered close to former Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party chief Naresh Uttam Patel expressed grief over Verma’s death, News18 reported. Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav also offered condolences to Verma’s family.
समाजवादी पार्टी के संस्थापक सदस्य एवं पूर्व केंद्रीय मंत्री बेनी प्रसाद वर्मा जी ' बेनी बाबू जी ' का निधन अत्यंत दुःखद! परिजनों के प्रति गहरी संवेदना। ईश्वर उनकी आत्मा को शांति प्रदान करे। pic.twitter.com/PukKI0Zi8J
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) March 27, 2020
