Congress' strong message to Mamata - Trivedi will stay until the end of March

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The Congress has reportedly sent out a strong message to Mamata Banerjee saying her Railway nominee will stay on as minister at least till the end of March.

The government, it appears, does not want to be disturbed till the Union Budget is done and dusted.

Facing questions from Opposition over the controversy surrounding Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi, government on Thursday said he had not resigned but a 'communication' had been received from Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee which was under 'active consideration'.

The assertion by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha came alongside a statement from Trinamool Congress making it clear that it would not rock the boat and the government would continue its full term.

Smiling Trivedi

Trivedi, who was earlier thought to have resigned, did not speak in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. But he smiled when Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the house that he (Trivedi) had not resigned.

Mukherjee also told the Lok Sabha that the railway budget was now the property of the house, which would vote on the proposals.

He also took responsibility for preparation of the railway budget, saying only the finance minister's approval was needed and not that of either the prime minister or the cabinet.

Later, speaking outside the house, the mild-mannered Trivedi reiterated that he had not been asked to resign by the prime minister or Banerjee but he would go if he was asked to.

He, however, gently contradicted Banerjee's claim that the party was not aware of his move to raise rail fares. And in remarks bound to displease Banerjee, he said he was duty-bound to defend the budget.

Is the budget still valid?

The opposition, meanwhile, are calling the entire railway budget fiasco an 'absurd drama'.

"Tell us if Trivedi is still Railways Minister. Is the railway budget presented yesterday still valid?," asked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj. Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief Sharad Yadav asked the government to make a statement in the House on the issue.

"They (UPA Government) have mismanaged this whole affair. We need transparency on what happened," he said.

However, Speaker Meira Kumar disallowed the notice saying there was no rule under which this demand could be met.

Fare Hike

Trivedi had in his maiden Railway Budget proposed a hike of one paise per km for suburban and ordinary second class travel. He also called for a fare increase for mail express and second class trains at three paisa per km; for sleeper class five paisa per km; for AC chair car, AC 3 tier and First Class by 10 paise per km; AC 2 Tier 15 paise per km; and AC I 30 paise per km.

He said the corresponding rationalisation in minimum distance and fare chargeable in various classes has also been proposed.

The proposed revisions will have marginal impact on the fares. The increase in fares for suburban second class passengers traveling 35 km will be Rs.2. For non-suburban second class ordinary passenger traveling a distance of 135 km, increase will be Rs.4 only.

For second class mail or express passenger traveling a distance of 375 km, the addition to the fare will be Rs.12 and that for a 750 km journey by sleeper class on mail/express train will be Rs.40. An AC 3 tier passenger traveling a distance of 530 km will be required to pay an additional Rs.57. The increase for AC 2 tier and AC I passenger traveling over same distance will be Rs.84 and Rs.163 respectively.