Measure for measure? At least it seems so. Taking strong exception to West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s pot-shots at the railway ministry for failing to provide jobs, railway minister and Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee prescribed him to change his spectacles.
“He is spreading canards about the unavailability of jobs in the Railways and popularity of trains which have been flagged off recently. The process of recruitment has already started. The recruitment board of the Railways is looking into the matter,” Ms Banerjee said in an interview to a private Bengali news channel on Wednesday. Taking a dig at her bete noire, she said, “If he cannot see the developments that my railway department has ushered in the state, then I would advise him to change his spectacles.” Elaborating her point, she said, “At least, 1,67,000 jobs in railways are under process. And regarding trains, the Duronto Express train has become very popular.” Ms Banerjee’s bantering came after Mr Bhattacharjee levelled criticism that the railway minister had failed to provide “a single job” in her department. Earlier to this, the chief minister while addressing the media, had also mocked at the Duronto Express and various other trains flagged off by Ms Banerjee by saying: “Churonto, Uronto, Dubonto: such trains are being launched everyday. After and after a while, all these trains vanish.”