E Ahmed, minister of state for railways is a worried man. Ministry officials are reluctant to pass on files to the minister without a green signal from Mamata Banerjee.
E Ahmed, minister of state for railways is a worried man. Ministry officials are reluctant to pass on files to the junior minister without a green signal from Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee.
The reason: Banerjee is reportedly angry with Ahmed because his party, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML)’s West Bengal unit fielded candidates against Trinamool Congress during the recent Lok Sabha elections.
“Ministry officials have got wind of this and now Ahmed is annoyed as it is affecting his work. He is not even sure whether the officials are doing this on Banerjee’s orders or simply to annoy him,” a source close to him said.
Ahmed, however, dismissed reports of a rift with Mamata, saying: “We met on Tuesday in parliament and Madam has told me that since she is not going to be in Delhi very often, I have to do most of the travelling.”
Reports are also doing the rounds that Banerjee may replace Ahmed. However, this may not be possible so soon after the swearing-in.
Ahmed is not the only one affected by didi’s wrath. Mamata is miffed with the Union government for not agreeing to her suggestion to provide relief to the victims of Cyclone Aila directly from the Centre instead of routing it through the Bengal government. She will be meeting the PM in this connection.
Trinamool ministers in the UPA government will also pay home minister P Chidambaram a visit. They are demanding action against the perpetrators of violence against Trinamool party workers in Bengal. “Didi will be staying in Delhi for a few days but she will make her presence felt,” Mamata’s aide said.
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