New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi's bravado doesn't seem to have gone down well with Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress. His statement went on to be the defining moment for the Rail Minister and his budget.
Even before Dinesh Trivedi could finish his speech, his proposal of hiking passenger fares had got the better of his own party colleagues.
"We do not accept this. The party has not been consulted," said Trinamool leader Sudip Bandopadhyay.
In West Bengal, Banerjee, who was holding a public meeting in Nandigram, conveyed her disappointment as well.
The question is how Dinesh Trivedi could make a policy pronouncement without consulting Mamata.
At the moment, it appears to be more of a Congress ploy to neutralise Mamata's ever increasing political populism. Trivedi, already in the bad books of Mamata for speaking out far too often, tried to play a clever game – bat for the Congress, and position himself as a reformer.
"If Bhagat Singh could die for the country, then what is a chair," said Trivedi.
For a man who started off as a businessman, Dinesh Trivedi has clearly struck a clever business deal here. On one hand he has ensured the support of the Congress party, on the other he has done the Congress the biggest favour, pricking the balloon of superiority that was floated by Mamata Banerjee.
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