Mamata Banerjee set to present rail budget

July 20th, 2009 KOLKATA - A day after Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee flagged off the first ladies' special local train, hundreds of jubilant women showered their blessings upon the West Bengal leader and wished her well. The first ladies' special train was flagged off Sunday and started plying from Howrah to Bandel station Monday.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to reply to the general discussion on rail budget on Thursday in Lok Sabha. The Railway budget is still under discussion in both houses of parliament.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said her ministry would look at providing infrastructure and land for setting up Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). "We might even look at building IITs in the future," Banerjee told the Lok Sabha in a discussion on the railway budget.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Rail Budget for 2009-10 by voice vote after Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee announced some more concessions, few new rail lines and setting up of an expert committee. Replying to a marathon debate on rail budget in the Lok Sabha, Banerjee said an expert committee, headed by Amit Mitra, will prepare a blue print for business plans of railways.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has arrived in Parliament to present a "pro-people" budget today. Before arriving at Parliament, Mamata said, "It will be a pro-people budget, a simple budget, people's budget." She said that she only got 15 days to work on it, as the concerned officials were busy preparing it.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, presenting the rail budget for 2009-10 in parliament Friday, said all railway zones have been instructed to ensure availability of 'Janata Khana' - national and regional cuisines - on trains. "National and regional cuisines will be introduced and priority would be given to provision of good quality food, drinking water and toilet facilities and ensure cleanliness on trains and stations," Banerjee said.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and her predecessor Lalu Prasad Friday engaged in a war of words over the rail budget. While Banerjee termed the targets fixed by him in his interim rail budget as "unrealistically high", Lalu Prasad said she suffered from a "complex".

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Left parties were divided in their reaction to the railway budget unveiled by their bete noire Mamata Banerjee here Friday, with the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) welcoming parts of it and the Communist Party of India (CPI) slamming it. The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the budget impractical.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee will present a "pro-people" budget today. Talking to reporters here, Mamata said, "It will be a pro-people budget, a simple budget, people's budget." She said that she only got 15 days to work on it, as the concerned officials were busy preparing it.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday taunted the Left for calling her rail budget a "manifesto" for the West Bengal assembly polls of 2011, retorting "why not in 2009"? "You asked me a political question and I gave you a political answer," she told reporters after presenting the rail budget. Asked about Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Basudeb Acharya's comment that the rail budget she presented in parliament was a "manifesto for the 2011 elections in West Bengal", Banerjee said she was ready to face elections this very year.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee began presenting her ministry's budget for the current fiscal shortly after noon Friday with the promise of addressing the concerns of average passengers. People all over the country have high expectations from the railway budget, Banerjee told the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, switching between English and Hindi.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Accusing Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on doing nothing new in the rail budget, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Friday said that she had used his achievements in the ministry to build her case. "Is this a budget? She has just read out what I had announced during my stint...She suffers from a complex," he said.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Amidst much speculation and expectations, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday gave final touches to the rail budget, to be presented in parliament Friday. Shifting from the claims of high surplus by her predecessor Lalu Prasad, Banerjee has maintained from the day she assumed charge that her focus would be on improving passenger amenities and rationalisation of services such as Tatkal (instant ticketing) service.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that the railway budget would be a "pro-people" budget. "It will be a pro-people budget, a simple budget, people's budget," Banerjee said after an all-party meeting here.

February 12th, 2009 KOLKATA - Former railways minister and chief of West Bengal's principal opposition party Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee Friday termed the railway budget as an election gimmick. 'This budget is just a gimmick before the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.