By IANS,
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday questioned the resignation of Dinesh Trivedi as railway minister saying that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee were equally responsible for a proposed rail passenger fare hike.
Initiating the debate on the rail budget in the upper house, BJP leader Balbir Punj said there was a “mystery” behind Trivedi’s resignation.
He said: “Railways, which is the life line of the country’s economy, should not suffer due to the compulsions of coalition politics.”
“Is it not correct that the prime minister and the finance minister had given their blessings to the rail budget presented by Trivedi? Should these two not be questioned,” Punj said.
He also said that both had lauded Trivedi’s budget, but he was later forced to resign.
“It’s like being lauded by the headmaster of the school, and then being rusticated.”
The Trinamool Congress MP, Trivedi, who presented the rail budget last week, was forced to resign as the railway minister after his party leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjere expressed objection to a hike in passenger fares introduced by him.
Trivedi was replaced by another Trinamool member Mukul Roy Tuesday as the new railway minister.
Punj said the speculations on Trivedi’s survival started even before he finished the presentation of the rail budget.