LS talks railway split, Mamata men keep out

The best part of the proceedings was that Trinamool Congress members were absent, even though the discussion followed a reference to Mamata Banerjee’s statements by Congress member Kamal Nath. He sought to know the Government response to her allegations that Railway Minister Nitish Kumar had been allowed to go ahead with bifurcation as a reward for suppressing facts on the Godhra carnage.

The discussion took a different spin when Prabhunath Singh (Samata) used an expression for Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi that was promptly expunged by Speaker Manohar Joshi from the record.

Congress leaders Shivraj Patil, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, Kamal Nath and Santosh Mohan Dev rose in protest as the House was thrown into pandemonium.

Prabhunath Singh claimed that Banerjee had raked up the issue to check a supplies scandal pertaining to her stint at Rail Bhavan. A reminder from the Opposition that he was levelling an allegation against his own government did not deter him.

Nitish refuted the allegation that he had been rewarded for suppressing facts on the Godhra carnage. ‘‘What can I possibly have to cover up? What interest can I have?’’ He pointed out that investigations into the case were being handled by the Gujarat police.

On the demand for the list of victims of the carnage, Kumar said only nine people whose names figured in the reservation chart were identified among the dead and injured. The coach was packed with rallyists.

Ticket-checkers had reported they could not verify the passengers as the train was overcrowded and many passengers who had booked tickets could not board the train. He said he had directed officials to verify the passengers who had travelled.