Gowda on track despite interruptions

The popular saying — ‘the more things change, the more they remain the same’ — rang true in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday as BJP’s new Rail Minister DV Sadananda Gowda presented the first Rail Budget.

It just seemed a case of the key players switching sides. Throughout Gowda’s speech, the Congress and its allies kept interjecting, joined in by members from the Trinamool Congress, Left parties and Aam Aadmi Party, while on the Treasury side, some BJP members kept retorting.

With successive Rail Ministers making the most of their portfolio to reap political gains, this year was no different, despite the clear mandate that the new Government had its ‘new vision of development.’

So, each time Gowda mentioned a train to either Gujarat or Karnataka, there were sniggers and jeers from the Opposition. And the moment he announced that the Railways had taken up port connectivity on priority through public-private partnership funding, TMC member Kalyan Banerjee questioned, “Yeh India ka budget hai ki Adani ka? (Is this a budget for India or for Adani?) referring to Gujarat-based tycoon Gautam Adani, a big player in the port sector who is also considered to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When Gowda announced that Indian Railways would facilitate milk-transportation by providing special tanker trains in association with National Dairy Development Board and Amul, TMC members protested that it was “Gujarat again!” Incidentally, while the TMC members protested they were being closely watched by senior party leader, Mukul Roy, who was sitting in the upper gallery.

When Gowda mentioned about dedicating the new station in Katra to the nation, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, along with her MPs, protested, saying that it was an UPA project.

As the Minister’s speech ended, the protests grew louder, with TMC members rushing to the well, crying ‘discrimination’ against West Bengal.

Gowda, who kept his cool throughout, was soon surrounded by his Cabinet colleagues, accepting congratulations, but with one exception.

BJP’s new MP from Asansol, singer Babul Supriyo was seen worriedly asking senior BJP leaders about the deal for Bengal in the Budget.

With a marked increase in vote share in Bengal in the Lok Sabha polls, BJP is now eyeing the Bengal Assembly polls, due in 2016.