Trinamool Congress Mukul Roy is new Railway Minister

 Trinamool Congress' Mukul Roy will be sworn-in on Tuesday as Cabinet minister to replace his party colleague Dinesh Trivedi, who has resigned as Railway Minister.

Roy, Minister of State for Shipping, would take the oath of office and secrecy this morning as Cabinet minister, the sources said.

Trivedi had to resign after TMC 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.

Trivedi sent his resignation to the PM on Sunday evening.

PM's reply may address TMC concerns on NCTC today

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address at 12 noon on today.

Government sources said the PM’s reply will address concerns of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on the formation of National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).

Though a TMC amendment to President Pratibha Patil's address to the joint session of Parliament seeking deletion of the reference to the controversial matter was rejected in the Lok Sabha, the concerns expressed by party chief Mamata Banerjee would be suitably reflected in the PM’s reply to the three-day debate, sources said.

The same has already been conveyed to Trinamool leader Sudip Bandopadhyay, sources stated, adding the party will not embarrass the government in Parliament on the issue.

The West Bengal Chief Minister had opposed the proposal for setting up of the NCTC, an issue over which the Trinamool Congress has made common cause with the Opposition and some non-Congress chief ministers, saying the states' rights were being encroached upon.

The TMC move to amend the President's address, which was rejected on technical grounds, could have embarrassed the government in Parliament.

Around 2,700 amendments to the President's Address have been submitted in both Houses in a bid to corner the government on issues like NCTC, federalism and corruption.

Meanwhile, another key UPA ally, the DMK too has given hints that it will not put the government on backfoot in Parliament on the issue of Sri Lankan war crimes.

The DMK has been pressing the government to make its stand clear on the resolution to be adopted on Sri Lankan war crimes issue at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Mamata flags down Rail Budget, Dinesh Trivedi quits

Upset with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to sack him, Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi on Thursday tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Mamata Banerjee last night had written a letter to the Prime Minister to name her Trinamool colleague Mukul Roy as railway minister after her nominee Dinesh Trivedi hiked passenger fares, a decision which the TMC chief vehemently opposed.

Mamata wrote the letter to Dr Singh after Trivedi refused to back off despite TMC supremo’s strident criticism.

Reports suggest that a roll back in fare hike is expected after March 16 and TMC MP Mukul Roy, considered very close to Mamata, is likely to replace Trivedi as the railway minister and may be sworn in on Sunday or Monday.

The incident came at the end of a dramatic day that saw rapid developments beginning with Trivedi proposing across the board hike in railway fares for the first time in 10 years.

It is being said that Mamata also spoke to Congress leadership in Delhi to press for Trivedi’s removal and is said to have been assured that her demand would be accepted.

The Congress core group met at the Prime Minister's residence here late last night and weighed options to deal with the demand made by Trinamool Congress chief.

The action of the West Bengal Chief Minister came late in the night after Trivedi's stout defence of his proposal for across-the-board increase in rail fares to net Rs 4,000 crore in the Budget.

Mamata's decision has plunged the UPA government in an unusual political crisis. This has created an unprecedented situation in the country's parliamentary history when a minister is sought to be removed even before the budget presented by him has been discussed in Parliament.

The TMC has also threatened to move a cut motion against the fare hike.

TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared publicly that she would not allow the hike in fares which Trivedi proposed.

However, Trivedi stuck to his guns saying he has done his duty and he was not afraid of losing his job.

Pranab warns allies against amendments to President's speech

A dinner for UPA allies at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's home on Tuesday ended with a serious message for Mamata Banerjee, who skipped the meeting and sent instead not one of the Trinamool Congress ministers in the UPA government, but MP Ratna De Nag.

Ms Nag arrived at the dinner late, to be handed a type-written, unsigned note for Mamata Banerjee that reportedly said that an amendment her party has sought in Parliament is embarrassing for the government she partners. The note reportedly stops short of saying that the amendment - seeking the deletion of a reference to the new National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) from the President's speech to Parliament yesterday - be withdrawn.

But at the dinner meeting, sources said, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee made clear that if the Trinamool persisted with the amendment and there was a vote on it, the UPA government could fall. When Ms Nag said that her party did not intend to destabilise the government, Mr Mukherjee reportedly pointed out that though the UPA's allies might not willfully want the government in trouble, such moves would only have the Opposition taking advantage of the situation.

That is already happening. The BJP too has reportedly sought an amendment similar to the Trinamool's on the mention of the NCTC in the President's speech, and the main opposition party wants a vote on that amendment. In case of a vote, the TMC would find it difficult to support the government - party chief Ms Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, has been the Group Captain for 10 chief ministers who have objected to the NCTC on the grounds that its powers encroach upon those of state governments. The Centre has delayed the commissioning of the NCTC till an extensive dialogue is completed with states.

After the dinner meeting, Home Minister P Chidambaram said it had been impressed upon all allies that members of their party must be present in Parliament to vote with the government and help it push through important legislation in the Budget Session that began on Monday. It was also decided that all UPA allies would meet every day in Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal's room for better floor coordination in Parliament. Partners like the TMC and the DMK have repeatedly accused the Congress-led government of not consulting them on key policy decisions and blamed it for poor coordination.

The DMK too put the government in a spot on Tuesday by moving amendments seeking that the President's address reflect India's stand on alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan government. A resolution backed by the US against reported atrocities will come up within the next few days at the United Nations Human Rights Council at Geneva. The DMK has said India must vote against Sri Lanka. The party also wants the President's address to refer to the repeated arrests by Sri Lanka of fishermen from Tamil Nadu.

Tuesday's dinner is being seen as the government's effort to rebuild bridges amid reports that the coalition is on shaky ground. Mamata Banerjee's open snub in sending a relatively junior representative to the important dinner adds to the speculation that the coalition is very fragile. The TMC has since tried to play down Mamata's cold shoulder, with Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien tweeting, "Dr Ratna Nag who attended PM dinner is our Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha. She is a lady & in our party we respect all. She's a key member of TMC."

Ms Banerjee has also denied interest in exiting the government or in exploring political options, but her actions have suggested otherwise.  While Ms Banerjee chose not to send a minister to the PM's dinner, she is sending close aide and Union Minister Mukul Roy to Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal's swearing-in later today.

Talk of a Third Front with the Samajwadi Party, the Left and Chandrababu Naidu's TDP continues to do the rounds.

Ms Banerjee late last year forced the government to suspend its reforms in retail just days after they were announced. With her 19 MPs, she is an indispensable partner in the UPA. She also accused the Centre of violating the principles of federalism late last year, when the Centre introduced the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha. Though the bill was passed there, it has yet to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha.

Though Ms Banerjee has said that she remains committed to the UPA, her recent gestures suggest she is not closed to exploring other options. She accepted invites to the swearing-in ceremonies for Akhilesh Yadav in UP and the Akali-BJP government in Punjab; the Congress took offence. Later, she said she would send representatives instead.

Chief Mamata Banerjee says, Not a traitor, do not want mid-term polls

After all the fire and thunder of the past few weeks and months, prominent UPA ally and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee may be toning down the pressure on the Congress.

In a report in the Kolkata based Bengali newspaper, the Ananda Bazar Patrika, the Trinamool chief is quoted saying, "We are not traitors. Putting the central govt in a spot is not our objective. We do not want mid-term polls. We don't want to split our alliance with Congress."

The report says Mamata Banerjee spoke to Congress leader Ahmed Patel on the matter.

Her party sources say Ms Banerjee is unlikely to accept an invitation from the Akalis to attend the swearing-in of Parkash Singh Badal as Chief Minister. Her presence would not go down well with the Congress, who was served an unexpected defeat by the Akalis in the recent election in Punjab. Aware of the recent reports on her siding against the UPA  with many of the Congress' political rivals like Naveen Patnaik of Odisha, Ms Banerjee is prone for now to avoid more controversy.

At yesterday's parliamentary party meeting, Ms Banrejee had said Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi had admitted his mistake about his comments about mid-term polls.

Mr Trivedi had said if that there is an anti-Congress wave in the country and the Samajwadi Party and the BJP wants early polls then Congress should understand.

"Trinamool may also be happy to have a mid-term poll now rather than two years later. If I am in a situation of a lame duck then I think it may be a good idea to call it a day," Mr Trivedi had said.

He had also said that not much could be expected in the Budget Session of Parliament. Mr Trivedi later did a volte face and said the remarks were made in an individual capacity. "My remarks have nothing to do with my party, it has nothing to do with me as a minister. It is just an exchange of idea as a student of politics, analysing a political situation in the country. And as an individual, I have certainly lost my freedom of expression but it is not a statement," he said

Trinamool Congress MP Kabir Suman criticises CM Mamata Banerjee

Once an ardent supporter, singer-turned-Trinamool Congress MP Kabir Suman has criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the state of affairs in West Bengal, particularly political violence and crimes, including the sensational Park Street rape.

"Farmers are committing suicide. Many government employees are not getting salaries. The student wing of Trinamool is following the same path of violence and force followed by (the rival CPI-M's arm) SFI. There has been a significant rise in cases of molestation," Kabir Suman, 62, wrote in his blog.

Suman, who was elected from the Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency on the city's outskirts in 2009, expressed shock over recent crimes in the state.

Many people are still in shock after the Park Street rape case. What is astonishing is that earlier Banerjee used to run to various places across the state to stand beside rape victims, but she has now bluntly denied the Park Street rape. She had said it is a cooked up case," wrote Suman.

"Later on, when it was proved that rape did occur, she could have apologised but she didn't bother. A cabinet minister tried to establish that the rape victim was an escort. How can a minister be so heartless?"

He referred to the incident in which two Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leaders, including a former legislator, were killed in a clash in West Bengal's Burdwan district.

The opposition Left Front blamed the ruling Trinamool Congress for the incident, but Banerjee claimed the deaths were the results of infighting in the CPI-M.

"Two CPI-M leaders were lynched to death. It is alleged they were killed by Trinamool supporters. But the chief minister said they died because of infighting. She also said there were a lot of cases against those who died - as if it is obvious for a person to get killed if he has criminal cases against him?"

Suman also took a dig at some of the intellectuals now seen around Banerjee, who came to power in May last year, dislodging the over three-decade-old Left Front government in the state.

"Those intellectuals who are right now dancing to Banerjee's tunes had earlier either lobbied to stop Banerjee from taking part in the intellectuals' movement opposing Nandigarm and Singur or were close to the CPI-M leadership," he wrote.

Suman has had a strained relationship with the Trinamool leadership after he raised his voice against alleged corruption among a section of party leaders and openly condemned the joint forces operation in the Maoist-infested districts of the state.

He is credited with having changed the face of modern Bengali music in the 1990s with the 'jeebonmukhi' genre, writing and singing about people and their lives.

The former broadcast journalist once extensively covered Nicaragua during the Sandinista revolution and is known to be close to Leftist radicals.

He is known for albums like "Tomake Chai", "Boshe Anko", "Ichchhe Holo" and "Gaanola".

Lokpal Bill in Rajya Sabha today

Two days after getting the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill passed in Lok Sabha, the UPA government will introduce the same for a debate and approval in Rajya Sabha on Today.

The decision to introduce the Lokpal Bill in the Upper House was taken shortly after President Pratibha Patil gave her approval for the same yesterday.

The President's approval was required for the measure since the Lok Sabha made some amendments to The Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011 before its passage.

After the Lokpal Bill is tabled in the Upper House, a debate on the same would be held which will conclude with a vote.

The controversial Bill is being tabled in the Upper House amid concerns that the UPA government lacks adequate majority required to get the same passed in the Rajya Sabha.

Uncertainty prevails over the smooth passage of anti-graft legislation in the Upper House since Trinamool Congress – a major UPA ally- has decided to make a key amendment to the legislation adopted by Lok Sabha further complicating the numbers game in the House.

Trinamool Congress, which has 6 members in the 243-member Upper House where the Congress and its allies do not have majority, wants removal of the provisions relating to the setting up of Lokayuktas in the state which is contained in the Bill passed by Lok Sabha yesterday. If the Government accepts the amendments, the Bill will have to be referred to the Lok Sabha again or a joint session of Parliament has to be convened for its clearance.

UPA troubleshooter and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday held talks with leaders of Trinamool Congress, which has strong reservations over provisions in the bill that it considers encroachment on the states’ rights on appointment of the Lokayukta.

Trinamool Congress leaders Mukul Roy and Sudeep Bandopadhayay met Mukherjee after which Roy said the question of creating trouble for the government does not arise. With Mukherjee reportedly ruling out any further amendments, Trinamool Congress has tabled amendments for removal of provisions relating to Lokayuktas that it feels are encroaching on the powers of states.

In a House with an effective strength of 243, the Congress and other allies in the UPA account for 94 and can count on the support of eight nominated members and independents and members of small parties accounting for around 10 MPs.

The Constitution Amendment Bill, an idea of Rahul Gandhi to give Constitutional status to Lokpal and Lokayukta, was also favoured by the Standing Committee which considered the bill.

A Constitution Amendment Bill to be passed should have more than 50 per cent of the members of the House present and of them, two-third support is mandatory.

Concerned about this, MoS in PMO, V Narayanasamy said this morning, “The Congress party had issued a whip asking its MPs to be present and vote in favour of the bill in Rajya Sabha. The party is concerned about the fate of the Lokpal Bill and is determined to get the same passed in the Upper House.”

The minister expressed concerns about the possible absence of its own MPs and those from major allies including NCP, DMK, BSP, SP and RJD during the voting in Rajya Sabha - the absence of some MPs resulted in the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha.

The Congress party has decided to take action against its own members, who staged a walkout or remained absent during the voting on the Constitution Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha earlier.

The government has reasons to worry in case the members of its alliance partners including the DMK. SP, RJD and BSP walk out of the House during voting as they did in Lok Sabha.

In the 245-member House, the Congress and its allies NCP, DMK, Trinamool Congress, LJP and RLD together have 93 members. Parties supporting the UPA from outside - BSP (18), SP (5) and RJD (4) -- account for 27 crucial votes.

These three parties had walked out of Lok Sabha before voting on the Lokpal Bill last night but their absence did not matter much because the bill required only a simple majority and it was passed by a voice vote.

However, the absence of 42 MPs from these three parties in the Lok Sabha spelt disaster for the government in the Constitutional Amendment Bill, which required a special majority for passage.

Probably, this has triggered concerns in the Congress government, which is making every attempt to ensure that the Lokpal Bill sails through choppy seas in Rajya Sabha.

On Tuesday, Lok Sabha voted on the two bills after a 10-hour long debate that had 38 speakers and saw heated exchanges, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention at 4.40 pm indicated the government's resolve to press ahead despite stiff opposition, primarily on the question of constitution of Lokayuktas in the states.

The opposition proposed nearly 90 amendments in all and the voting process for the three bills went on for nearly two hours, ending close to midnight.

Most opposition members wanted the CBI to be freed of government control, but opinion was divided on whether the agency should be brought under the Lokpal.

Members wanted deletion of Section 24, which requires the Lokpal to send reports on charge-sheeted MPs to the presiding officers of the two houses of Parliament, asking them to take action against the member.

Today All-party meet on retail FDI underway

An all-party meeting convened by the Centre to end the deadlock over allowing 51% FDI in multi-brand retail began on Today.

Top leaders who are attending the meeting include Sushma Swaraj, LK Advani (BJP), Sharad Pawar (NCP), Sandeep Bandhopadhyay (TMC), Jayant Chowdhary (RLD), Anant Geete, Manohar Joshi (Shiv Sena), Pawan Kumar Bansal, Narayansami, Anand Sharma (Congress), Nageshwar Rao (TDP), Satish Mishra (BSP), Thambidurai, Maitran (AIADMK), T Shiva (DMK).

However, it is still not clear as who is chairing the meeting.

Today’s meeting holds significance as the government is seeking bi-partisan support from Opposition and key allies and try to reach a consensus over allowing FDI in the retail sector.

The government is finding itself in a tight corner on the issue of FDI in retail with allies Trinamool Congress and DMK joining the Opposition in demanding withdrawal of the decision that led to Parliament’s adjournment.

DMK, which joined the Trinamool Congress in opposing the decision, described as "dangerous" allowing FDI in retail trade alleging it will affect lakhs of small traders as well as the poor and middle class consumers.

The two allies with 18 MPs each constitute the largest groups after Congress, which heads the UPA coalition, and have demanded a roll back of the decision immediately.

With the Opposition displaying rare unity against the decision to allow 51 per cent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, Leader of the Lok Sabha and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is also expected to meet floor leaders of political parties in a bid to break the deadlock.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, yesterday met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and held parleys with senior ministers Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, A K Antony and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma in the evening on the strategy the government will adopt when the matter comes for discussion today.

There is also speculation that government might at least put on hold the FDI decision in the interest of functioning of Parliament.

But Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal said the government is convinced that the FDI decision was in the larger national interest and would benefit every section of society.

Today's meeting has been convened as an effort to talk to the Opposition to ensure that Parliament, which has been paralysed for five days, resumes normal business.

On his part Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma sought to reach out to Opposition parties by writing a letter to them and appealed to them to rise above "petty partisanship" on the issue.

The entire Opposition, barring BJP ally Akali Dal, put the blame on the government for Parliament's disruption saying they were not consulted on such a vital issue. The unity among the Opposition has also surprised the government.

Notices of adjournment motion on the issue were tabled by leaders of several parties in the Lok Sabha which are under the consideration of Speaker Meira Kumar. Similar notices were also tabled in the Rajya Sabha.

"Scrap the decision by the night. Parliament can function tomorrow," Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj said in a press conference yesterday.

JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said the Congress took the FDI deliberately to sabotage Parliament at a time when it was scheduled to discuss crucial issues like price rise and black money.

Yadav, who is NDA convener and BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain, said the question of allowing Parliament to function does not not arise till government reverses the decision.

The Opposition has said that the decision would sound the death knell for millions of small traders and cause huge unemployment in the rural areas.

The FDI decision has also met with stiff resistance from Chief Ministers of non-Congress states like Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Orissa and those ruled by BJP.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee has already said the decision would not be implemented in the state.