Dinesh Trivedi has not resigned: Pranab Mukherjee

New Delhi, Mar 15: Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi has not resigned, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha on Thursday. He, however, said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has received a communication from Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee which was under "active consideration".

"As and when a decision will be taken, the House will be informed," he said without divulging details of the communication which, he said, was received late last night. Trivedi occupied the front row in the Lok Sabha which is usually occupied by senior ministers.

Mukherjee's statement came after an impromptu debate in the House with opposition members seeking suspension of Question Hour on the plea that an "unprecedented and unusual" situation had arisen following the reported resignation of Trivedi. Speaker Meira Kumar disallowed the notices of suspension of Question Hour but allowed Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj and others to speak on the issue.

Leader of Trinamool Congress in the House Sudip Bandopadhyay said his party members have not asked the Railway Minister to tender his resignation. "The matter has to be settled between my leader and the Prime Minister," Bandopadhyay said. He went ahead and said that the government "is totally settled and would complete its term".

Trivedi's proposal to hike fares in the Railway Budget earned him the ire of the Trinamool chief who sent a late night communication to the Prime Minister suggesting him to replace Trivedi with Mukul Roy.

PTI