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New Delhi: The railway minister Mamata Banerjee’s declaration on Friday to come out with a white paper on the performance of the railways in the past five years brought out clear differences with her predecessor while providing the JD (U) a handle to target the RJD chief and former railway minister Lalu Prasad.
Upset at the announcement, the RJD leader lost no time in running down Banerjee by saying that much of what she had announced in the budget were actually his initiatives. He also said he was not bothered by the minister’s declaration to come out with a white paper on the organisational, operational and financial situation of the railways. “This is not an embarrassment. Let her bring out white paper. I am not bothered,” he told reporters.
The railway minister’s action to go for a white paper came in the wake of her assertion that “unrealistically high targets” had been set for revenues in the Interim Budget by her predecessor. “I am presenting the budget estimates for 2009-10 in the backdrop of the shortfall in performance of the railways in 2008-09. Freight loading fell short of the target of 850 million tonne by 17 million tonne. Revenues from commercial utilisation of surplus railway lands also did not materialise. Based on the review, it is very clear that the unrealistically high targets set in the interim budget are not sustainable and warrant a mid course correction,” Banerjee said presenting the budget in Lok Sabha.
That there was no rapport between the two leaders was evident when Banerjee repeatedly singled out Prasad during her Budget speech in the Lok Sabha. At one point, the RJD leader even pleaded with her as to why she was after him. He also looked for support at Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was sitting besides the railway minister, but she kept a stoic face and refused to intervene.
The RJD chief later called a separate press conference to pick holes in the budget proposals. He said he had made the announcement of world-class stations during his stint. On the announcement of double-decker trains, he noted that the minister has not stated on which routes it will be run. “Indian rail network runs through bridges and tunnels. How will these double-decker trains run?” he asked. The RJD leader also charged that Bihar was being discriminated against, saying not a single ‘Duranto’ (quick) train originates from Patna. “Duranto trains pass...
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