Beni issue: SP softens stand, refrains from disrupting Houses

Congress today heaved a sigh of relief as Samajwadi Party softened its stand on the Beni Prasad Verma remarks issue following the intervention of Sonia Gandhi and did not disrupt Parliament.
Praising the SP chief, party spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit said, "Mulayam Singh Yadav is a sincere and seasoned politician. Unlike many other leaders, he does not come out with hasty statements."
His remarks came after the SP in its Parliamentary Party meeting decided to go slow on the issue though it slammed Verma for his controversial remarks against Yadav and authorised the party chief to take a final decision on it.

Unlike yesterday, the SP members in both Houses of Parliament, did not disrupt proceedings on the issue today.
There was, however, a chant of "shame shame" in the Rajya Sabha as Verma appeared in the House for a few minutes in the morning.
Congress has taken note of the softening of stand.

"Today, the SP did not disrupt Parliament," noted a party leader speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The leader said while the Samajwadi Party and its chief may still have reservations against Verma, it won't have problem in continuing to support the government now.
The leader believed that the gesture by Gandhi in Lok Sabha yesterday when she walked up to Yadav with folded hands had its mollifying effect on the ally.

Between adjournments in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi and Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had met Yadav separately and are understood to have conveyed to him that the Congress strongly disapproved of Verma's remarks. Verma also later expressed "regret" over the remarks.
The government requires the crucial support of SP, which has 22 MPs in Lok Sabha, in the backdrop of DMK pulling out of UPA.