Decision on Trivedi's fate any moment: Sudip

A decision on the fate of Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi is expected "any moment", Trinamool leader Sudip Bandopadhyay today said.

"It is an issue which is being dealt with by Mamata Banerjee and the Prime Minister. In between them, conversations have already been held. So, naturally the decision will be taken any moment," he told reporters outside Parliament.

The Trinamool Congress leader said the Prime Minister spoke to Banerjee on this issue yesterday.

He dismissed suggestions that the Trivedi issue has affected the entire nation.
"I think not a single person is affected, the nation is far away. It is nothing to be hurried, nothing to be worried at all," he said.

Indicating that the exit of Trivedi as Railway Minister was a matter of time, Bandopadhyay had yesterday said the party's priority was to ensure a "complete rollback" of the fare hike announced in the rail budget.

"Our priority is complete rollback of the hike. How the government does it, only they have to decide. They can do it after the discussion on the rail budget or before that. It is only the government which will have to decide," he had said.

To question on the replacement of Trivedi by Mukul Roy as sought by Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, Bandopadhyay had maintained that it was a "closed chapter," indicating that the issue had been clinched.

He said Congress has "also agreed to the principle that in a coalition, the parties send names of those who are to be inducted into the Council of Ministers or change the names".