Former Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi who was forced out of the Cabinet for proposing to raise railway fares said he resigned on Sunday to avert the collapse of the UPA government. If I hadnt resigned,the government would have fallen. The moment I realised this,I put in my papers because I did not want the country to go through a mid-term election over this, Trivedi told The Indian Express today when his successor,Mukul Roy,took oath. I did not want to be the cause that brings in an early election. Trivedis statement comes shortly after Mamata Banerjee,who was in the capital for two days to ensure Roy becomes the Railway Minister,left for Kolkata. My removal was imminent and train fare hike was not the real reason. Everybody in the party knew that I was going to go after my budget. They wanted me to raise fares to get a chance to remove me, Trivedi said. On the Trinamool demanding a rollback,he said: Those who want a rollback have no respect for the people and no respect for individuals. The eight months that I was in office,Railways did not have a penny for any project, he said. While the Trinamool Congress has ruled out ousting Trivedi,party sources equated him with Kabir Suman,Trinamool MP from Kolkata,who was quietly sidelined thanks to his frequent,open criticism of Mamatas policies. Trivedi said the comparisn was not fair. There is no comparison (with Kabir Suman). Everything has a natural course of action, he said.
