Dinesh Trivedi could make it to the coveted post of Cabinet minister for the Railways partly because he was not seen as a threat to Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal politics, thanks to his Gujarati origin.
But the elevation of this trained pilot, who has an MBA from the University of Texas, is also perceived as failure of Mamata?s trusted lieutenant Mukul Roy, who was appointed as minister of state for railways to take control of the crucial portfolio.
All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) chairperson and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee wanted the Prime Minister to place her party?s general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Mukul Roy at the helm of affairs in the ministry after she resigned in May to become West Bengal chief minister. She also succeeded in getting Roy inducted into the ministry as minister of state to pave way for his elevation to the Cabinet minister rank at the time of reshuffle. However, Roy apparently failed to gain the confidence of the PM, who was keen that the Railways? stressed finances are corrected and safety for passenger and freight is improved. On Tuesday, Roy was shifted from the railway ministry and now he retains the shipping portfolio as minister of state.
Trivedi, who is a member of the Lok Sabha from the Barrackpur constituency of West Bengal, was always Banerjee?s second choice for the position. He was instrumental in her effort to liaison with the Congress during assembly elections in West Bengal. Sources say Trivedi?s name was suggested to her during a visit to New Delhi on June 21. Trivedi was earlier minister of state in the health ministry.
As railway minister, his main job would be to bring the Railways back from the brink of financial crisis. The situation is so serious that the Railways could not provide adequate funds to depreciation reserve fund in 2010-11 that is used to replace aged assets. In 2010, it had also sought a waiver of dividend for five years starting 2009-10.
Another important task is to make the Railways a safer mode of transport by implementing long-pending decisions of installing anti-collision devices and starting online monitoring of rolling stock to check their health. Railways had also announced inviting private participation in manufacturing of locomotives and coaches four years ago, but contracts for the same are yet to be finalised despite interest from the industry.