Beni does it again

The irrepressible Beni Prasad Verma is at it again. Last week, the Samajwadi Party (SP) announced a public holiday on May 17 for the anniversary of the Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, the famed sufi saint of Ajmer. Verma told reporters that neither the Muslims nor the Khwaja sahib would be happy at this decision. There were a host of other things the SP ought to do, he counselled. One of the most important ones was to ensure those Muslims who were in jail, were given legal assistance to come out. "Please tell our Muslim brothers what the need was to withdraw the hate speech charge against BJP leader Varun Gandhi?" Verma said, adding sarcastically, "the Muslims will be greatly relieved to hear SP's explanation on this matter."