Decision on Trivedi unlikely before Monday

A decision on the fate of Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi is unlikely before Monday.

An indication to this effect came tonight after the Congress top brass including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi deliberated deeply on the strategy ahead in the backdrop of the Trivedi issue and the Uttarakhand crisis.

The meeting of the Congress Core Group was held ahead of the discussion on the Railway Budget in Parliament next week amid speculation as to who will reply to the discussion as Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi's fate hung in balance.

Consultations by the Congress leadership were held amid signals that the government was in no hurry about the exit of the Railway minister, projecting it as the internal matter of the ally Trinamool Congress.

Congress high command feels that there appears to have been a re-thinking over Trivedi issue inside the TMC giving the ruling party much needed time, sources said. TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has written to the Prime Minister seeking Trivedi's replacement.

The TMC has emerged as the most troublesome ally of the Congress at the Centre at a time when its options have been limited by the outcome in the assembly polls in five states.

Party source said the Core Group also discussed the situation in Uttarakhand, where the four-day old Congress government is facing a severe crisis.

Embattled Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today rushed to Delhi and had a meeting with Gandhi, a day after 17 Congress MLAs, mostly loyalists of Union Minister Harish Rawat, refused to take oath in the state assembly to register their protest against choice of Bahuguna for the top post.