Mamata wants to run Railways from home!

By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee

After drawing first blood against the Left Front in the Lok Sabha polls Mamata Banerjee is no mood to let the momentum go of the hooks ahead of the Assembly elections in West Bengal. In a demand which may sound bizarre to many the fearsome Mamata wants to look over the Indian Railways from home! Well not quite literally she wants to report to Eastern Railway Headquarters in Kolkata rather than in Rail Bhavan, New Delhi.

Mamata has set her eyes on the 2011 Assembly Elections and she wouldn't like to divert her attention from her home state. With the Left facing its worst political crisis in over three decades Didi is planning to tighten her grip over the her political opponents. With both the Urban and the Rural voters giving their consent to her in the Lok Sabha polls Mamata is planning to topple India's longest running state government.

The people of West Bengal who are tired of one party rule in the state for three decades might rejoice Mamata's attention towards the state but the worrying factor lies with her handling the key portfolio of Indian Railways. The country's biggest mode of public transport will need full attention from a Minister. Railways are key to the growth of our economy and any amount of neglect might proved costly for the country's growth.

Many top officials in the Indian Railways are worried that Mamata might halt the process of modernization in the Indian Railways started by her predecessor Lalu Prasad Yadav. It was under the leadership of the Bihar strongman that the Indian Railways made huge profits and improved its efficiency by leaps and bounds. Once the biggest loss making government body the Indian Railways started swelling in profits once the RJD boss took over in 2004.

Critics might argue that it won't be too difficult for a minister to handle a ministry from a metro like Kolkata. True, but there are two points which needs to be remembered. First Mamata's performance as a Railway Minister in the past had hardly been anything to talk about. Secondly she is stepping into big shoes perhaps India's most successful Railway Minister since independence. Hope Indian Railways is not sacrificed in the name of a state election.