Four ministers in 14 months,Rlys in limbo

Having seen four changes in 14 months,the coveted post of Railways Minister became the most volatile ministerial berth in UPA-II

Having seen four changes in 14 months,the coveted post of Railways Minister became the most volatile ministerial berth in UPA-II as Pawan Kumar Bansal put in his papers amid pressure on Friday.

Bansals elevation to the post of MR the monicker for the minister across Indian Railway was also something of a landmark because the Congress had taken charge of the portfolio after a gap of 17 years. This was also seen as an act of the lead constituent of the ruling coalition wresting the ministry from regional satraps,the latest being Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress,which had been milking the national transporter for regional political mileage for years.

In continuous flux,the ministrys big-ticket reform agenda is now understood to be in a limbo with shadow cast over appointments to the top executive body of ministry,the Railway Board. The post of Member (Traffic) and Member (Staff) are lying vacant,while Members-Engineering and Mechanical are headed by new incumbents. The posts of Financial Commissioner and Chairman will be vacant in three months. Also,appointments of several divisional railway managers across India,which were under consideration,is now expected to get delayed.

All the four ministers had to let go of the job under controversial circumstances. It started in March 2012 with Trinamool Congresss Dinesh Trivedi quitting days after his Rail Budget in which he had spelled out some much-needed moves for reform,notably,a steep increase in passenger fares,which earned the ire of his predecessor and party chief Mamata Banerjee.

Mamatas right-hand man,party MP Mukul Roy,took over soon after and rolled back all the reformist moves proposed by Trivedis budget a first in the history of Railways.

But Roys luck also ran out within months. He earned criticism in Delhi for trying to run the ministry with a remote control from Kolkata and routinely missing Cabinet meetings. In September 2012,Roys run ended as Trinamool walked out of the UPA.

CP Joshi,Road Transport and Highways Minister,and seen as close to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi,entered Rail Bhawan with orders to hold the additional charge. During his month-long tenure,the shortest for a Railways Minister,his aides did not occupy rooms at the Rail Bhawan amid talks of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle. When it looked like his formal ascension was just a matter of formality,politics within the Congress took turns just days before the actual reshuffle in October,catapulting Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs favourite Bansal to the post.

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Bansals biggest contribution during his six-month tenure has been a much-needed hike in passenger fares which had remained stagnant for over a decade.