Land bill will prove costly for the NDA govt: Dinesh Trivedi

Interview with Trinamool Congress member of Parliament and former railway minister

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Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament and former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi explains the Opposition party's stance on various issues in Parliament. He also talks about what ails Indian Railways and how the situation can be brought back on track in this interview with Kavita Chowdhury. Edited excerpts:

Practically no business has been transacted in this monsoon session and the Trinamool Congress's (TMC) strategy appears to be to "blow hot, blow cold" - from refraining from any Opposition protests in the first week to holding a full-scale "dharna" against the government in the second week.

The TMC has been consistent in its stand. I do not think there has been any change in our overall policy and tactics. The TMC has made it clear that it is not interested in targeting any individual, but in targeting corruption as an issue. We are not demanding the resignation of Sushma Swaraj or the chief ministers of states where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power. In the Vyapam scam, the issue is corruption and Mamata Banerjee (TMC leader and West Bengal Chief Minister) was one of the first few to describe it as "cold-blooded murder".

We have been protesting against the land bill. The West Bengal Legislative Assembly has passed a unanimous resolution against the bill. The land bill is an issue on which, barring the BJP, all political parties in the Opposition have converged. It's not necessary for political parties to concur on all issues; however on larger issues of corruption, on national security, we come together.

But unlike the Congress which has made it clear, "no discussion without resignation", the TMC has said it is ready for discussion in Parliament.

I don't understand why the government is not starting a discussion in Parliament. It's time for it to reach out to all Opposition parties and use all possible ways of getting the House to function. At the moment, it looks more confrontational than anything. There is also no effort on either side. If there is a Parliament logjam, the government has a bigger task to reach out and reason with the Opposition. The effort should be to start a dialogue. It's a battle of egos (at present).

Resignations are subject to standards of morality. There have been plenty of examples in the past, like those of L K Advani, Lal Bahadur Shastri who resigned. Resignation upholds the spirit of democracy. Since Parliament is not an investigating agency, nor is it technically equipped to act like a court of law, once the people under the scanner are cleared of charges, they can come back. By resigning, you uphold the standards of morality. But this call is best left to the people in question.

The Centre is believed to be climbing down on contentious clauses in the land bill. Is the TMC ready to meet the government halfway on it?

Our stand on the land bill has been clear. As I said earlier, the state (West Bengal) Assembly is the only one to have passed a resolution against it with the support of all parties, except the BJP. Remember, we stuck to our stand both in Singur and Nandigram. At that time, we were warned against doing so, but we swept the elections. This only shows that industrialists are far removed from ground realities. Any land deal has to be a win-win situation for the farmer and the private player. I think the land bill will prove politically expensive for the NDA government. There is no question of the TMC compromising on it.

The government is keen to get the goods and services tax (GST) constitutional amendment bill cleared this session. What will be the TMC's stand on it?

There has been no change in our stand. GST was part of our poll manifesto and we are supporting it.

In West Bengal, (which goes to the polls in 2016) the BJP believes that to keep it out, the TMC might even go for a silent understanding with the Left. After the Bihar polls, the next focus will be the West Bengal elections.
See, there is no BJP, no Congress; and even the Left is losing ground in West Bengal. For me, the biggest loser is the BJP. In 2014 they were close to replacing the Left but this year's civic polls have shown they are back to the fourth position. In West Bengal it is Mamata Banerjee all the way. If elections were held today, we would get a much larger mandate than in 2011, when we won 184 seats.

With polls in the offing, Banerjee appears to be donning an industry-friendly face, recently visiting UK, and earlier Singapore, to woo investors.

Development has always been our plank; we believe in a balance between agriculture and industry. Even in my own constituency of Barrackpore, there is visible improvement in every sphere. The Chief Minister has been working quietly and bringing about tangible improvements.

You were a former railway minister but as the chairman of the Standing Committee on Railways, you were recently scathing in your assessment of the health of the sector.

There are two things: reality and projection. Reality is that which is coming out in the Standing Committee report and in newspapers, while projection is that which is being done by the government. But facts can't be hidden forever. Indian Railways is moving backward. It has great potential, brainpower and its workforce is as good as that of the Army, but we aren't making the best use of them. There is no political will; mere talk will not do. The operating ratio is certainly not what is being projected; there is just no match. The operating ratio could be 100, it could be 110 - the problem is that the Railways has no accounting system. I have no doubt about Suresh Prabhu's (Union Railway Minister) intentions; he is a dear friend. But the political system has not understood the potential of the Railways. It has always been used as a political tool.

Railways doesn't have the finances to replace old assets, rolling stock, and tracks; so somewhere, safety is being compromised. Its system is solid but it is necessary to listen to experts, the Railway Board and respect the railway union, which is a very responsible union. Every year we appear to be going backwards when we compare ourselves with the world.

The BJP-led NDA government had come to power with great promises, but a year down the line the script seems to be going all wrong.

If you look at infrastructure - that is, railway, roads, power - in all these areas there is a lot of stress. Several projects are being abandoned halfway. The situation is such that there is power, but there are no takers. The worst crisis, I foresee, is in the banking sector. If the power sector were to default and huge NPAs (non-performing assets) were created, the banking sector would be under tremendous stress. Fortunately, crude prices have been coming down. But if an economic slowdown were to happen, one cannot say what our fate would be. One cannot be complacent. The Prime Minister needs a team, which can call a spade a spade. The ministers in this government say one thing, but the reality is quite another. Reports in the media are exposing these lies everyday.