Said the railway minister had presented a budget that promised to carry out the Vision 2020 outlined by his predecessor TMC chief Mamata Banerjee
Said the railway minister had presented a budget that promised to carry out the Vision 2020 outlined by his predecessor TMC chief Mamata Banerjee
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday said he regretted the departure of Dinesh Trivedi as railway minister and signalled that the new incumbent will have the duty of carrying forward the task of modernising the railways.
He said he had received Trivedi's resignation and proposed to send it to President Pratibha Patil with the recommendation that it be accepted. Replying to the debate on motion of thanks to the president's address in the Lok Sabha, the prime minister said Trivedi had presented a budget that had "promised to carry out the Vision 2020 outlined by his predecessor (Mamata Banerjee)". 
Good bye: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's defence of Dinesh
Trivedi's rail budget came in the backdrop of Mamata Banerjee's
firm opposition to hike in passenger fares and her demand that the
minister be removed for going against her party's line. File pics
Banerjee, who is now the chief minister of West Bengal and heads Trinamool Congress, had outlined the Vision 2020 for railways as a union minister. The prime minister's defence of Trivedi's rail budget came in the backdrop of Banerjee's firm opposition to hike in passenger fares and her demand that the minister be removed for going against her party's line.
"I received late last night an email message followed by a formal letter from Dinesh Trivedi tendering his resignation as railway minister," the prime minister said and added that he would forward the letter to the president.
"I regret the departure of Shri Trivedi," he said. "A new railway minister will be sworn in shortly. He will have the onerous duty of carrying forward the challenging task of modernising our railway system," Manmohan Singh said.
Mukul Roy will be sworn is as railway minister today
Trinamool Congress' Mukul Roy will be sworn-in today as cabinet minister to replace his party colleague Dinesh Trivedi who has resigned as railway minister, official sources said here. Roy, minister of state for shipping, would take the oaths of office and secrecy today morning as cabinet minister, the sources said. Trivedi had to resign after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee opposed the hike in passenger fares announced by him in the rail budget presented to Parliament last week. Banerjee had written to the Prime Minister that Trivedi should be replaced by Roy.
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