Didi is unstoppable. Despite all the goading from the UPA, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has her way. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to bow to her diktat to replace Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi. The government is also expected to fall in line and effect a minor rollback of the nominal tariff hike announced in Wednesday budget.
Mamata made it clear that she meant business when she had issued ultimatum to Trivedi immediately after his presentation of the Railway Budget to ‘rollback or quit’. Subsequently, she faxed a letter to the PM asking for sacking of Trivedi. The UPA had no other alternative but to implement her orders.
The Prime Minister also agreed to Mamata’s pick for the post – Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Roy. Sources say that the Congress may also agree for a partial rollback in passenger fares, which have been increased for the first time since 2002 in the Railway Budget presented by Dinesh Trivedi on Wednesday.
The West Bengal Chief Minister was not even willing to listen to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who requested her to to wait till the Union Budget is presented on March 16. But Mamata insisted on removal of Trivedi and the Congress agreed, saying that it is her choice to choose the Railway Minister.
Dinesh Trivedi, who was left red-faced by her own party Trinamool Congress, put up a brave front on Saturday, saying for him, the country’s priorities came first than his job. But it was clear that for Mamata, her political interests were paramount and populism was her undying creed.
Through this unilateral – and some even say whimsical – decision to replace Trivedi with one fax, Mamata also proved to the world that she is far more powerful than the Prime Minister himself.
