Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi will keep his job, but only till the Budget is presented tomorrow. Anxious not to drive Mamata Banerjee out of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) but equally clear that Trivedi’s prescription for the fiscal distress of Indian Railways is generally in the right direction, the government may partially roll back some provisions. But, it has recognised that Trivedi will have to go, possibly as early as over the weekend.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Banerjee this morning. Part of the government strategy was to keep the Trinamool Congress guessing about the next set of actions. Prime Minister’s Office sources said despite Banerjee having asked the PM to divest Trivedi of his portfolio, it was an internal matter of the Trinamool Congress “and they should first sort it out”. Trinamool Congress MPs were to have met the PM, but got no appointment all day, signalling the PM’s reluctance to take any decision under pressure.
Top sources in the Congress concede the Trinamool is a fractious ally and a problem to handle. But, they say they would not like a situation to be created where one ally is replaced by another. So, while the Congress would like the Samajwadi Party (SP) to come out in more active support of the government — which it has done — it would not want the Trinamool Congress to leave the UPA.
Pawan Bansal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, and Motilal Vora, the party treasurer, attended Akhilesh Yadav’s swearing in ceremony. They were asked to go by party president Sonia Gandhi. But, the party realises if it has to play the role of opposition in Uttar Pradesh, excessive dependence on the SP could blunt its critical edge.
The government is still considering how much of the fare hike it should roll back. It is clear it will not accept the Trinamool position on the hike as articulated by its leader, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, that “only a total rollback is acceptable and not partial”.
“At the most, you can justify a fare hike in the Rajdhani. But, we cannot support an across-the-board fare hike,” a state minister quoted Banerjee at the Trinamool Congress Legislature Party meeting in Kolkata on Thursday. According to him, all party legislators also “unanimously condemned” Dinesh Trivedi, as he had violated party discipline.
More From This Section
Meanwhile, Trivedi remained defiant and denied reports he had submitted his resignation in the wake of his “bold step” to hike rail fares. He maintained, “I am still Railway Minister, no one has asked me to quit.” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee clarified to a belligerent Opposition that “Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi had not resigned” but a communication from TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee was under “active consideration”.
Trivedi made his way to Parliament in his official car this morning, ready to answer questions during the Question Hour.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters in Parliament House the government would "consider" replacing Trivedi if such a situation developed. "Well, if anything like this develops, we will consider it," Singh said.
There was considerable ruckus in both houses of Parliament on Thursday, with the Opposition demanding to know the status of the railway minister. Mukherjee confirmed Banerjee had written to the PM and the matter was under active consideration. "As and when a decision will be taken, the House will be informed."
BJP leader Venkiah Naidu alleged the UPA was intent on buying time as it was keen to get the SP on board before it snapped ties with Banerjee. “That is why the crucial vote on the President’s speech was postponed to Monday. The UPA knew it would be embarrassed by a petulant Trinamool, which wanted amendments in the speech,” he said.