Mamata asks Trivedi to resign

Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress party yesterday asked its lawmaker and Indian Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi, who has earned his party's wrath for hiking passenger fares in the rail budget, to quit in grace but the latter insisted that Mamata should make the demand in writing.
Trinamool Congress parliamentary chief whip Kalyan Banerjee, who spoke to Trivedi over telephone, asked him to resign from the railway minister's post and make a graceful exit or face dismissal.
Kalyan said Trivedi told him that he wanted the party's decision to be conveyed in writing by Mamata who is also the West Bengal Chief Minister.
The Trinamool chief whip told Trivedi that it was not fair on his part to insist on a party directive in writing, pointing out that when he became a minister he had not insisted in writing about it from Mamata.
Kalyan said he told Trivedi that as a party man he should understand the situation and make the exit graciously when the party does not want him to remain as a minister.
Meanwhile, Mamata wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking replacement of Trivedi with another party nominee Mukul Roy, a federal junior minister for Shipping.