Mamata firm on booting Trivedi out of Railway Ministry

Kolkata, Mar 17 (ANI): West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday appeared to be firm about her decision to replace Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi with Mukul Roy, saying the government now has to take a final call on the issue.

"Don't ask me anything. You can talk to Kalyan Banerjee, he is the Chief Whip of the parliamentary party. I have already said whatever I have had to say. I will not say the same thing again and again. The government has to decide," she told media here during the filing of nominations for Rajya Sabha polls by Roy and three others.

Trivedi, who is in the eye of a storm of his own party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), ever since he presented the Railway Budget for 2012-13, has been asked to step down from his post, but he insists that Mamata Banerjee should make the demand in writing.

Trinamool Congress chief whip Kalyan Banerjee, who had a telephonic conversation with Trivedi earlier, asked him to resign from the Railway Minister's post and make a gracious exit and not wait to be sacked.

Trivedi had earlier on Friday refused to comment on the condemnation resolution moved by the TMC against him, saying he had no idea about it.

Trivedi, however, said he had immense faith in the people of the country, who appreciated him for his outstanding commitment.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee had earlier demanded that Trivedi be sacked for snapping an eight-year populist trend to not raise passenger train fares.

She demanded that another TMC leader Mukul Roy, who is presently the Minister of State for Shipping, be appointed as the Railway Minister. (ANI)