President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil accepted the resignation of Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi while Mukul Roy will take oath as the new Railway Minister on Tuesday.
Mukul Roy will be sworn-in on Tuesday as Cabinet minister to replace his party colleague Dinesh Trivedi who has resigned as railway minister, official sources said.
The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister has accepted the resignation of Dinesh Trivedi from the union council of ministers, with immediate effect,” a statement issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
“The President will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Mukul Roy as Cabinet minister in the council of ministers at 1000 hrs on 20 March,” the statement said.
Trivedi on Sunday night tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh upon the insistence of his party chief Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress.
The West Bengal chief minister wants Roy to take charge as railway minister as she was miffed with Trivedi for hiking the rail fares.
Dinesh Trivedi resigned as Railway Min on Sunday, ending his defiance and bringing to a close five-day drama after he incurred the wrath of Trinamool Congress for hiking passenger fares in the Railway Budget.
Trivedi (61), who on Saturday insisted that he would not resign unless his party boss Mamata Banerjee directed him to do so in writing, told reporters in Delhi that he called her up to confirm the real position.
“She did tell me that it was the party’s decision that I must step down and since the party, Trinamool Congress, was instrumental in making me the Railway Minister and Mamata Banerjee’s instructions were very clear that it is the party which has decided and like a soldier I must obey the party’s discipline. That is the way I have been trained.”
This will be the first case of a minister being forced to resign just after the presentation of the budget, that too by his own party upset over budget proposals.
Trivedi’s decision is understood to have come after a word from the PMO to him to quit.
The Congress leadership and the Prime Minister had assured Mamata that her demand for replacing Trivedi will be acceded after the presentation of the general budget on Friday last.
In Kolkata, Mamata, the West Bengal Chief Minister, confirmed the development saying Trivedi called her to tell her that he was resigning.
“He (Trivedi) called me and he told me that he will abide by the party decision and send his resignation,” Mamata said before heading for Delhi on Sunday. She also said that Trivedi told him that he will remain with the party.
In his virtual farewell comments, Trivedi said, “I must thank the party leader Mamata Banerjee and the entire cabinet and Prime Minister Manmohan Singhji for giving me this opportunity.
“I tried my level best to do whatever little I could do and in the interest of the Railways and in the interest of the country. I am very very happy. I must take this opportunity to thank the Railway Board and my 14 lakh employees of the rail parivar.”
Trivedi said, “it is now the duty of the country to make sure the railways is in good shape, is healthy. I certainly am concerned about the safety and because of the safety I did whatever I did.”
His decision came as an anti-climax as he put up a stiff defiance during the last five days refusing to quit unless asked for specifically in writing by Mamata.
Even on Sunday afternoon, he had said he has a constitutional duty to pilot the budget he had presented in Parliament.
Angered by his budget hiking passenger fares, Mamata wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday night and demanded his replacement with another party nominee and Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy.