Didi takes Oppn storm in stride

From standing her ground amidst vociferous opposition to paying back her rivals in the same coin,it was vintage Mamata Banerjee...

From standing her ground amidst vociferous opposition to paying back her rivals in the same coin,it was vintage Mamata Banerjee on display in Lok Sabha as she presented her second Rail Budget in eight months on Wednesday.

Draped in a cream tussar silk shawl,Mamata entered the House at 11.52 am and chitted with several MPs including BJPs Shahnawaz Hussain and DMKs T R Baalu before settling in her front row seat. The next minute,spotting a familiar face in the Secretariat Staff,she got up and walked to the lady to talk to her,taking the latter by complete surprise.

With Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi seated next to her,she began reading the Rail Budget speech around 12.15 pm,beginning the marathon two-hour speech in almost identical fashion as her last years speech: raising the question of social responsibility versus commercial viability.

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Should commercial viability be the only criterion to judge this need of connectivity? Or should social responsibility be an important consideration? I prefer the latter, she made it clear. At that point,nobody had a clue that she was about to subject the House to listening to the entire list of the 114 socially desirable projects she wants expedited.

Making it known that she had received more than 5,000 requests from various quarters in the run-up to the Rail Budget,she repeatedly underlined that she had attempted to address most of the demands. That,however,did not cut much ice with the Opposition MPs who started questioning what they called was the Rail Budget for Bengal. Outside the House,Mamata,when countered with the Bengal-centric charge,replied,Dont humiliate Bengal. I have given maximum projects to other states. Do you think Bengal should be left out? Dont ask me such questions from now on. She added that Bengal would get its share while other states will get theirs.

Earlier,the mere mention of places in West Bengal in many of the new projects she announced drew a collective roar from the Opposition during her speech. If you dont listen,I will cut, was Mamatas response to the continuous disturbance. Mera jaan kha gaya sab.

When she announced Amethi as one of the six locations for new water bottling plants,Sonia Gandhi smiled and nodded in appreciation. Sonia did an encore when Mamata stated that progress on setting up of coach factory at Rae Bareli will pick up during the year and a range of activities will be initiated. While the mention of Rae Bareli again evoked a roar from the Opposition,Mamata stood her ground,saying it was nothing to shout about.

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Towards the end,Mamata made the all-important announcement: no hike in passenger fares of any class or category of trains and in freight rates. Sonia greeted the announcement by thumping the desk. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not show any reaction.

After the House adjourned,Mamata walked up to Sonia,who held her hands,ostensibly congratulating her. But Mamatas real moment came when the PM walked up to her,smiled and lovingly put his hand on her head. He may not have agreed to many things Mamata did in the Budget,but that did not prevent him from acknowledging his ministers effort.

Disappointing,says Lalu

NEW DELHI: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday described the Railway Budget as disappointing and said the ministrys attempt to attract private firms to fund the rail projects is like chasing a dream. The budget is disappointing. The Railway Ministrys balance sheet is in poor shape. There is no provision for funds in it and private investment in railway projects is inadequate, said the former railway minister.