Mamta Banerjee reached parliament in her new Tata Nano, dressed in her favorite light yellow-coloured saree carrying her trademark Jhola to deliver second Railway Budget of the current United Progressive Alliance Government in Lok Sabha today. Telecasting from beginning to the end, DD-1 conceded budget session is the only time of the year when it gets maximum (only) viewership. Continuing tradition of past railway ministers she kept promising goodies until almost every viewer in India got satisfied and turned off their TV sets (except old generation stuck to television set watching and analyzing live telecast as if it is really going to make any radical change in their life). Among many attractive highlights, the tag line of this rail budget was the statement made by Didi “The Railway Budget 2010 is for the people and of the people and by the people” …….yeah yeah yeah, Lincoln again.
This year Didi promised 54 new trains out of which unlike other trains, 14 trains will run only one way; from Mumbai to Bihar. The decision was taken considering the current tense situation in Mumbai; she further explained that it will help in reducing number of North Indians in Mumbai. While BJP bitched about the decision, by declaring it MNS pleasing; MNS raised concern by stating it UPA’s meticulous move to erase their only political issue. Didi also promised 12 Durantos (non stop) trains as she recognizes these trains are hour of need, especially for trains crossing Bihar (4 Durantos will cross Bihar non-stop). She also said that considering frequent chain-pullings in Bihar, she is thinking of declaring all train crossing Bihar, Durantos.
Due to repeated sexual harassment of India's women commuters, eight trains will be designated as women-only. Though she personally felt it was not an issue as she said, “I have traveled by train in my whole life but nobody ever teased me…….. DAAAAHH but Rahul baba has been complaining about it.”
She announced railway is working under “Railways 2020 vision” and all the promises she had made but not fulfilled yet are long term goals under this vision. In critical analysis of this vision, AAJ TAK (India’s sabse tej news channel) said that this was a foolish move as world is anyway going to be destroyed in the year 2012.
She also announced special train between India and Bangladesh to be started to commemorate 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore to facilitate illegal immigration from Bangladesh.
In between all these promises, news channels were keeping an eye on the former Prime Minister H.D. Devegowda, ready to click his sleeping photo for “Sleeping Devegowda” calendar. Aware of the situation, he showed them his rare photo (left) with his both eyes open. At the end he was very much angry with the paparazzi, as because of them he has to be awake during whole parliament session for the first time.
At the end Lok Sabha speaker Mira Kumar thanked MP’s for, most of them being awake for major part of the session. She also conceded last two railway budgets have been boring and remembered Lalu Yadav for presenting funnier Railway budgets.
