This Article is From Mar 15, 2012

Dinesh Trivedi stays till March 30: Congress' firm message to Mamata

Dinesh Trivedi stays till March 30: Congress' firm message to Mamata
Kolkata: The Congress has told Mamata Banerjee that her party man, Dinesh Trivedi, who she wants sacked, will not be asked to exit the Railways Ministry till the end of March. The government wants to minimise the damage caused by Ms Banerjee's request till the union budget is presented and cleared. Mamata Banerjee has reportedly refused to wait till the end of March.

In Parliament today, the opposition asked the government a simple question - who is the country's Railways Minister? The government said Mr Trivedi has not resigned. "This is a theatre of the absurd," said the BJP's Arun Jaitley, about the new flashpoint between the Congress and Ms Banerjee.

The alliance between the two parties has been stretched to breaking point by Ms Banerjee's outburst over Mr Trivedi and the hike in passenger fares that he announced in his Railways Budget yesterday. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Parliament that he had reviewed the rail budget that Mr Trivedi presented. 

Ms Banerjee is also going on the offensive. Her party released the letter she wrote last night to the PM, demanding Mr Trivedi's removal.  The two-line letter says, "I would like to withdraw Dinesh Trivedi as Railways Minister and nominate Mukul Roy in his place." Mukul Roy is circumspect and says only the party will decide and speak on everything. 

At a meeting of her party members in Kolkata today, Ms Banerjee reportedly attacked Mr Trivedi for hiking passenger fares without consulting her. A "condemnation resolution" was adopted against Mr Trivedi for the Railways Budget he presented yesterday. The MLAs at the meeting were advised to visit their constituencies and brief voters on Mr Trivedi's betrayal. Sources close to Mamata Banerjee say this is "a Congress conspiracy."

Today, Mr Trivedi said that so far, neither the Prime Minister nor Ms Banerjee has asked him to quit. He will oblige, he said, the minute they do so. Till then, he said today, "As Railways Minister, it is my duty to get the Railways Budget passed." Sources close to him say he should have been treated better.

The Congress' reply to Ms Banerjee today comes amid increasing speculation that the party is considering rebooting the UPA coalition. Instead of Ms Banerjee, who has repeatedly forced the government to suspend economic reform, the Congress would rely on support from Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav, who together bring more than 40 Lok Sabha MPs to the table against Ms Banerjee's 19. A cabinet position has reportedly been offered to Mr Yadav. In Lucknow today, his son, Akhilesh, said, "Netaji (Mulayam) will decide on issues like who to support in the centre."

The growing political alignment between Mr Yadav and the Congress was clear today. At Akhilesh's swearing in as the chief minister of UP, the Congress was represented by senior leaders Pawan Bansal and Motilal Vohra.
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