Mamata asks Trivedi to quit, he complies

Ending his defiance, Dinesh Trivedi tonight gave in to his party's demand to resign as Railway Minister bringing the curtain down on the five-day drama after he incurred the wrath of Trinamool Congress for hiking passenger fares in the Railway Budget.

"He(Trivedi) called me and he told me that he will abide by the party decision and send his resignation," Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told PTI before heading for Delhi.

She also said that Trivedi told him that he will remain with the party.

Trivedi told reporters in Delhi that he called up Mamata to find out the real position. "She was kind enough to tell me (to resign) and I have a lot of respect for her. I stand by the discipline of the party."

He quoted her as saying that his resignation is a decision of the party and he has to abide by it.

Trivedi's decision came as an anti-climax as he put up a stiff defiance in the last five days refusing to quit unless asked for specifically in writing by Mamata.

Even this afternoon, he had said he has a constitutional duty to pilot the budget he had presented in Parliament.

Angered by his budget hiking passenger fares, Mamata wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday night and demanded his replacement with another party nominee and Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy.

As she mounted pressure, the Prime Minister and Congress leadership assured her that Trivedi will be replaced in a couple of days after the presentation of general budget on Friday last.

Trivedi said, "She told me that it was the party's decision that I must step down. Since Trinammol Congress was instrumental in making me the Railway Minister I did like a soldier."

"Her instructions were very clear that it was the party's decision and I must abide by it," he said.

US-educated Trivedi, who represents Barrackpore in the Lok Sabha, had even gone to Rail Bhavan yesterday and presided over a meeting of Board members.

When party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha Kalyan Banerjee asked him over telephone to quit as minister, Trivedi told him that he will not to so unless the directive came in writing from Mamata.

With his resignation not coming, Mamata decided to fly to Delhi for attending the Trinamool Congress parliamentary party meeting and use the visit for a meeting with the Prime Minister to apparently urge him to take her party's concerns on board on not going ahead with the NCTC.

She wants a chief ministers' meeting to be called on the issue.

After his telephonic talk with Mamata, Trivedi said he tried his best to do "little I could do in the interest of the Indian Railways and the country. I am very very happy and am thankful to the Railway board and 14 lakh employees."

"The people should make sure that the Railways is in a good shape. I am very much concerned about the safety and whatever I did I did for the safety of the country," he said.

Earlier, Trinamool Congress sources said the party expected the Congress leadership to keep its "word" on removal of Trivedi.

During the day, Trivedi said the Railway ministry was not anybody's personal fiefdom.

"I do not want to stick to the ministry. But I also do not want to run away. The Prime Minister has to decide on it (his resignation). There should not be any politics with the ministry. Railway kisi ka jagir nahin hai (the Railways are nobody's fiefdom)." Trivedi told reporters outside his house in the national capital.

Trivedi, who has insisted that Mamata should give it in writing that he should resign, said, "I have high regard for her. She is a good human being."