Rail Budget

There is crisis in govt, can't have an unstable govt: Jaitley

BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Thursday criticised the UPA government for its indecisiveness on the fiasco that followed the Rail Budget. ...

Trivedi attends Question Hour in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: Dinesh Trivedi, facing flak from the his own party the Trinamool Congress for increasing passenger fares in the Railway Budget, arrived in Parliament to attend the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. Trivedi has been asked to step down as the Railway Minister by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, but according to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee he still remains a minister as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh...  

PM has no control over allies: Brinda Karat

New Delhi: Even as Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs started their dharna outside Parliament demanding a full roll-back of the railway fares and a financial package for West Bengal, CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat lashed out at the party for "putting the Railways in the ICU". "It is the TMC who has put the Railways in the ICU. The first question Mamata has to answer is regarding the statement made by Dinesh...  

'TMC's prerogative to name the Railway Minister'

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) parliamentary chief, Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Thursday said that his party has made Dinesh Trivedi the Railway Minister, not the Congress. Hence, the Trinamool Congress will decide about what happens to the ministry. "Dinesh Trivedi can say what he wants to. If Pranab Mukherjee presents the budget tomorrow, will we agree that he hasn't spoken to the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi. That is a common...  

Trivedi quits as Mamata fumes, rollback possible

New Delhi: In an unprecedented move, Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi has been forced to step down within hours of presenting the Railway Budget for his decision to announce the first passenger fare hike in a decade. Sources say that Trivedi sent his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after receiving the marching orders from Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Mamata asked Manmohan Singh to make...  

Trivedi kept country before party: Somnath Chatterjee

Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee said that he admires what Dinesh Trivedi and this is what should be done. ...

I have not yet resigned: Dinesh Trivedi

New Delhi: Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi, whose removal has been demanded by his party leader and TMC boss Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday said he has not resigned as yet. However, he made it clear that he would resign the moment the Prime Minister or Mamata Banerjee ask him to do. Trivedi said he has to answer questions in Parliament on Thursday and he would be doing that. "I will not...  

Dinesh Trivedi has gone against TMC's DNA: Derek

In an unprecedented moved, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi was sacked just hours after he presented the Rail Budget on Wednesday, reportedly on Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee's asking. ...

TMC puts question mark on the fate of Rail Budget

New Delhi: After Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi was forced to quit even before the House debated the Rail Budget, the fate of the entire Budget has become uncertain. Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister demanded Trivedi's resignation for hiking passenger fares for the first time in 10 years. The BJP is likely to demand a statement from the Government on what it intends to do on Trinamool Congress...  

Budget tussle: What's the road ahead for UPA?

New Delhi: The Budget session of Parliament has already turned dramatic with Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanding full rollback of the passsenger fare hike announced in the Railway Budget by Dinesh Trivedi on Wednesday and directing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to sack him. The government on Thursday morning agreed to accept Trivedi's resignation that he sent early in the morning and sources say the...  

Our committment is to stand by poor people: TMC

Trinamool Congress leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said that the party will discuss the rail fare hike on Thursday and they are not taking this fare hike well. ...

Mamata forces Trivedi to quit after bold Budget

New Delhi: Following Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee's diktat to resign for increasing passenger fares in the Rail Budget, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi on Thursday morning sent his resignation letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Putting a question mark on the fate of the Railway Budget, Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asked Manmohan Singh to remove Trivedi as the Railway Minister after he took the bold and politically suicidal decision of...  

Mukul Roy may replace Trivedi as Rail Minister

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday reportedly agreed to accept Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi's resignation as Railway Minister, after the latter's party chief Mamata Banerjee demanded that the minister be sacked for hiking train fares, and be replaced by Mukul Roy. Sources say that Roy may be sworn into the Cabinet on Saturday or Sunday, after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tables his Budget on Friday. Roy is...  

'Contract for dedicated freight corridor in 2012-13'

New Delhi: Indian Railways will award contract for construction of about 1,000 route km on eastern and western dedicated freight corridors (DFCs) in the next fiscal, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi said on Wednesday. "It is expected that the contract for civil and track works for about 1,000 route kilometres on Eastern and Western DFCs would be awarded during 2012-13," Trivedi said while presenting the Railway Budget for 2012-13. The Railways...  

Railways to miss revenue target of Rs 1.06 lakh cr

New Delhi: The Railways is likely to miss its revenue target of about Rs 1.06 lakh crore in the current fiscal. The Railways is expected to fall short of its targeted revenues by as much as Rs 2,322 crore mainly due to lower passenger earnings. As per official data, Railways is projected to see gross traffic receipts to the tune of Rs 1.04 lakh crore for the year ending March...  

Omar Abdullah empathises with Dinesh Trivedi

Jammu: "I'd hate to be in Dinesh Trivedi's shoe's today." This was Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's reaction to the railway budget presented by Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi on Wednesday. "All said and done I'd hate to be in Dinesh Trivedi's shoe's today. Today was supposed to be the highlight of his political career. Poor chap," the NC leader wrote in microblogging site Twitter. Within minutes of presenting...  

TDP blasts rail budget, says injustice done to AP

Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party on Tuesday strongly criticised the hike in railway passenger fares, and decried the "gross injustice" done to Andhra Pradesh in the Railway Budget. "It's terrible that the Government of India chose to impose financial burden of several thousand crore rupees on common people by increasing railway passenger fares. The UPA government increased price of petrol and diesel 25 times in the last eight years leading to...  

PM ready to sack Trivedi after Mamata's diktat

New Delhi: In a big embarrassment for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government on the day the Railway Budget for 2012-13 was presented, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's demand to replace Dinesh Trivedi as the Railway Minister. The Prime Minister also agreed to Mamata's pick for the post - Trinamool's Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Roy. Sources say that...  

Cong core group meets to discuss Mamata's move

New Delhi: The Congress core group met at the Prime Minister's residence on Wednesday night and weighed options to deal with the demand made by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to sack Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi. While the group agreed in principle to accept Mamata's demand, it was decided that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would talk to Mamata and tell her that this would be done after presentation of the...  

Is a rail fare hike political suicide?

Pranab spoke to Mamata, requesting her to wait till the Union Budget is presented but Mamata insisted on removal of Dinesh Trivedi. ...