No problem in rollback of speech, says Pranab

New Delhi:  Injecting a note of levity in his sombre Budget presentation, a smiling Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha on Friday that he had no problem in a "rollback of the speech".

Mr Mukherjee, who had to interrupt his reading of the Budget because some members of the House could not hear it properly, offered to read some paragraphs again. "Rollback of the speech, no problem," Mr Mukherjee said, smiling broadly, as the house interrupted in laughter.

The reference was, of course, to the rail budget where United Progressive Alliance (UPA) ally Trinamool Congress has asked for a rollback of the hike in passenger tariff.

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Mamata wins, Dinesh Trivedi resigns, rollback of fare hike soon: Sources

New Delhi:  Mamata Banerjee has proved that in its current state, the Congress cannot refuse any demand she presents. The Prime Minister will agree, say sources, that her own party colleague, Dinesh Trivedi, will be fired as Railways Minister. Sources also say Mr Trivedi has sent in his resignation to the PM. Ms Banerjee is punishing Mr Trivedi for announcing a nominal hike in passenger fares on Wednesday. The Railways budget he presented in Parliament had been described by the PM as progressive and modern. (Read: Who is Dinesh Trivedi?)

Ms Banerjee disagreed vehemently. She wrote to the Prime Minister earlier on Wednesday night asking for Mr Trivedi to be replaced by Mukul Roy, a union minister from her party. She also wants the government to reverse the hike in passenger fares announced by Mr Trivedi in Parliament today as he shared the Railways budget. Sources say the rollback might happen after March 16 - the day Union Budget will be presented in Parliament. The Congress' senior most leaders met tonight at the Prime Minister's residence where it was decided that its upto Ms Banerjee to decide her nominee to the union cabinet - she has suggested her party's Mukul Roy, currently a union minister. Mr Trivedi's removal will make political history - this is the first time that a minister will be fired even before Parliament debates his budget. (Read: Full text of Dinesh Trivedi speech on Railway Budget 2012)   

The Congress has decided to accelerate its courtship of Mulayam Singh Yadav as a possible replacement for Ms Banerjee, who has whipped the government into submission on many occasions because her 19 Lok Sabha MPs make her essential to the survival of the coalition. Mr Yadav's 22 MPs make him a viable option and he has often rescued the government by voting in its favour on crucial legislation. So senior Congress leaders like Pawan Bansal will attend the swearing-in today of his son, Akhilesh, as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.    

Mr  Trivedi said earlier today that he had done his duty and "now it is upto God."  The hike in fares he announced were nominal, ranging from two paise per kilometre to 30 paise per kilometre. This is the first hike in fares in nine years.  In a lengthy interview to NDTV this evening, he suggested that he was prepared for his dismissal. Mr Trivedi acknowledged that he had not briefed Ms Banerjee about the hike in fares. (Highlights - No clue why my party reacted this way: Dinesh Trivedi to NDTV)

Internally, say sources, the Trinamool Congress believes that if they don't oppose this hike they will find it difficult to object to the next petrol or diesel price hike - something they have done in the past to prove they stand for the aam admi or common man. (Railway Budget 2012 highlights)

Mr Trivedi was attacked by his own party immediately after he had presented his first rail budget. First, the Trinamool's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O Brien, tweeted, "Railway Budget... what was all that about increasing fares across the board? Upper class... maybe ok... but all? Sorry, cannot agree." Then, fellow TMC minister Sudip Bandopadhyay demanded that the hike be withdrawn. "We are opposing because of our party leader Mamata Banerjee who has taught us to protect interests of poor people."

The final word from Ms Banerjee came a little after 4 pm; she declared at a rally in Nandigram in Bengal, "We will not accept the hike, be sure of that." Ms Banerjee then headed back to Kolkata and reportedly wrote to the PM at around 8.30 in the evening asking that Mr Trivedi be removed. She has also summoned Mr Trivedi to Kolkata.  

Earlier today, sources said that Mr Trivedi had been ordered by Ms Banerjee to either resign or roll back the increased prices. He had indicated that he would not change his mind. Referring to the precarious financial health of the railways, he said, "The railways was getting into the ICU and I have pulled it out of ICU. You cannot have everything together." (Full transcript: Dinesh Trivedi speaks to NDTV)

Sources say Ms Banerjee has been upset with Mr Trivedi for a while now, possibly because of his perceived closeness to the Congress. He also ran into trouble last week when he said that his party may not be opposed to early general elections, which means the UPA would not last its full term. Ms Banerjee later said that her MPs had been asked not to express their personal views.

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