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Angered by Trivedi`s proposal contained in the Railway Budget which he presented to Parliament earlier in the day, mercurial TMC boss and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh late in the Wednesday night seeking removal of Trivedi and his replacement by Mukul Roy, currently Minister of State for Shipping who had earlier served in the Railway Ministry.
"Yes, I have written to the Prime Minister seeking his replacement with Mukul Roy, another union minister," Banerjee told PTI.
Mamata`s decision created an unprecedented situation in the country`s parliamentary history when a minister is sought to be removed even before the budget presented by him has been discussed in Parliament. In addition, it puts Singh in a piquant situation, which is also unprecedented.
The government was thus faced with a war within which could have serious consequences on its stability.
Should Singh not follow Mamata`s dictat, TMC, which is the second largest constituent with 19 MPs in Lok Sabha, may very likely pull out of the government which will increase its dependence on outside supporters like Samajwadi Party and BSP.
Mamata`s brinkmanship also presents the Prime Minister with another acute embarrassment since he had praised Trivedi`s budget earlier as "forward-looking".
There are deep concerns within the UPA about Mamata`s behaviour which comes two days before the General Budget is to be presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday.
It is very likely that she may find fault with some of the proposals in the General Budget and create further trouble for the government.
