NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL DEAR REDIFF THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES US ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
M Chhaya in Kolkata
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Friday demanded the creation of a new railway zone to be based in Ranchi.
Contending the capital of Jharkhand deserved a railway zone, she said her party has placed its demand before the railway consultative committee, which is scheduled to meet on November 13.
The party wants the new zone to be allotted to the Dhanbad division, which was at the centre of a tussle between Banerjee and Union Railway Minister Nitish Kumar.
While the Trinamool chief wanted the revenue-rich division to stay with the erstwhile Eastern Railway zone, Kumar eventually managed to apportion it with the newly created East Central Railway zone headquartered in Bihar's Hajipur.
Kumar's victory resulted in souring of relations between the Trinamool and the ruling National Democratic Alliance, and Banerjee's party finally walked out of the central alliance.
But, it now seems that the Trinamool is not going to sit back on the issue of creation of 'smaller railway zones for administrative efficiency'.
"Trinamool parliamentarian Sudip Bandopadhyay is a member of the railway consultative committee, and he is going to take up the demand in the next meeting," party sources said.
Political analysts feel that Banerjee's newfound love for Jharkhand could have stemmed from her recent warm relations with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Lately, Banerjee has been effusive in her praise for JMM strongman Shibu Soren.
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
