Rail Budget: I have pulled railways out of ICU, Dinesh Trivedi says

NEW DELHI: Unmoved by the vehement opposition from his own party, railway minister Dinesh Trivedi stood by the passenger fare hike, saying he had pulled the state transporter out of “Intensive Care Unit” and it would have been difficult to pay staff salaries if such measures were not taken.
The minister, however, distanced Trinamool Congress boss Mamata Banerjee from the “unpopular” decision, saying the party leadership was not aware of it.“The party at leadership level was not aware of it. I did it with full responsibility. It was my conscious decision in the best interests of the railways,” Trivedi said.
"It is a very big misconception that the railways is run from Writers’ Building (headquarters of West Bengal government). She (Banerjee) did not know anything at all and there was no interference by her in any aspect of the budget,” he added.
On Banerjee’s remarks against the hike, Trivedi said she had only spoken as chief minister of a state about projects relating to Bengal, like any other chief minister.
He refused to comment when asked whether he would quit as railway minister as his party was demanding a rollback of the fare hike. However, he said, "Political parties have a right to their philosophy. There is nothing wrong in it.”
Trivedi parried a question whether he agreed with his party's policies, saying, "I don't want to get into politics. This press conference is only about the railway budget."
Asked whether the hike was "necessary", he said "you also know whether it is necessary" and said that without raising resources, no modernization or safety or other works could be carried out.
The minister said that if the decision was not taken, railways would have gone the Air India way. “I have done my duty. Today, I am worried about safety,” he said, adding that parliamentary committees and employees’ federations had demanded a fare hike.
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