Monday, November 23, 2009

PROMOTION OF PARTY INTERESTS THROUGH RAILWAY FUND BY RAILWAY MINISTER

The whole country has been going through unprecedented crisis as a result of worldwide financial recession and less production of cereals in the country. The central government has therefore taken a decision for austerity drive in every ministry and organization under its control. Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Shri Pranab Kumar Mukherjee and others are actively abiding by this decision. As a part of this decision, they have already started to travel in economic class of air flights and brought down other expenses.

But this is not so with the Indian Railways under Mamata Banerjee. It seems that the Indian Railways is a separate entity out of the purview of the Central Government. She considers it to be her private individual property and misuses railway money extravagantly for the promotion of her party interests.

After becoming Union Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee has formed three new Committees to reward the Maoist intellectuals and the opportunists who had worked for her in the last Parliamentary Elections, 2009. Under her instruction, the Railway Board under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India has issued a Government Order bearing No. ERB-1/2009/23/33 on 9th October 2009 constituting the said committees with detailed facilities.

1 Heritage and Cultural Committee under the chairpersonship of Smt. Shaoli Mitra

2 Passengers’ Amenities Committee under the chairpersonship of Shri Subhaprasanna Bhattacharjee

3 Passengers’ Amenities Committee under the chairpersonship of Shri Derek-o-Brayen

The entire expenses of these committees amounting to more than Rs. 50 Lakhs per month will be borne by the Indian Railways. Each full time member of the Committee will be paid Rs. 50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand) as monthly allowance and each part-timer will be paid Rs. 25,000/- per month without performing any job. They will be also provided with the following facilities and amenities free of cost as per the said Government Order.

· Meeting allowance @ Rs. 520/-per meeting

· Free 1st Class AC Railway Pass with one companion

· Travel in Executive Class by flight

· Travel on road by car to be provided by the Indian Railways

· Lodging and boarding in Class I hotel anywhere

· Free telephone with ISD/STD facilities both at residence and office

· Free Medical treatment and facilities at the cost of the Indian Railways

· TA & DA at par with railway officers

Each member of the committees can appoint Private Secretary and required number of peons.

The Chairperson of each committee can extend the Committee by co-opting any person though to be necessary.

These committees are unprecedented in the history of the Indian Railways. This is the first time that such expensive committees have been constituted at the cost of the public exchequer to accommodate sycophants and so-called champions of tribals and downtrodden. These sycophants often used to raise the questions of nepotism, corruption and exploitation. But now they are most shamelessly engaged in the same.

Maoist intellectuals Bibhas Chakraborty, theatre personality, Arpita Ghosh, theatre personality, Joy Goswami, poet, Bratya Basu, theatre personality, Pallab Kirtania, Singer, Rituparna Ghosh, film director, Ustad Rashid Khan, artist, GS Raitela, Director General, National Council of Science Museum, Ratan Thiyam, theatre personality and many others have been made their members.

Apart from this, the sycophant singers are being paid abnormal fees for singing in the inaugural functions. Shri Nachiketa Chakraborty has been paid Rs. 70,000/- per function. Similarly, the Maoist singer Pallab Kirtania has also been paid abnormal fees for the same purpose.

The loot and plunder of public exchequer by Mamata Banerjee along with her Maoist intellectuals and sycophants is unprecedented in the history of Indian Railways. All opposition parties irrespective of affiliation should raise the matter on the floor of the Parliament, which is now in session to save public money from being plundered by the so-called champions of tribals and farmers.

It is most surprising that Medha Patkar, Arundhati Roy and other intellectuals have been maintaining mysterious and motivated silence over the issue.

No comments:

Post a Comment