Tale of two ministers: Flamboyant and loud versus quiet and determined

Interestingly,Mamata chose to list out only 35 of these 50 stations,out of which only nine were new ones. The remaining 26 had already been announced during Lalu’s term. Amongst the nine new names,Sealdah,Kolkata and Majherhat,all in Banerjee’s home state,found a mention.

This year’s Rail Budget brought out the stark difference between the way both these politicians have treated it. While Lalu had almost turned the Rail Budget into a jamboree (he would be on television giving bytes since early morning till late night),Mamata stuck to a non-flashy saner way.

In fact,unlike Lalu,who used to occupy the front-row seat well in advance before he would begin his Rail Budget speech,Mamata entered the House almost unnoticed and chose to occupy a seat in the last row. It was only later that she moved a few rows and came to the forefront once the Speaker announced her turn to present the Rail Budget. Also,Mamata chose to arrive in her aide’s car and did not make hullabaloo about the budget documents she was carrying. Lalu had made a ritual out of flashing a leather briefcase before the shutterbugs before entering the House.

Another change in approach was reflected the way Mamata chose to devote a major portion of her speech on the “human face” and issues relating to passenger amenities unlike Lalu who,over the past couple of years,had got almost obsessive about boasting of high revenues and the way he had turned the Railways around.

Having refrained from targeting Lalu after taking charge,Mamata,on Friday appeared combative. As she continued with her speech,Lalu continued with his wry smiles and under the breath mutterings.

Announcing a proposal to set up a 1000 megawatt power plant at Adra in an area close to Lalgarh,Purulia and Bankura,Mamata suddenly shot back at Lalu,almost defending her decision to locate the plant in West Bengal. “Arey bhai,ek do to karenge hi. Aap ne kitna kiya?” Lalu,by this time,had had enough. “Main toka taki nahin kar raha hoon. Aap kyun merey peechey padi hain (I am not interrupting you. Why are you after me),” he said.

The fun continued as Mamata read out the full list of the 57 new trains she announced on Friday. Each time she would announce a train to or through Bihar,she would point or gesture towards Lalu,the emphasis in her words conveying what she wanted to. A few minutes later,as she read out another list of railway projects,she was quick to add,“Hamara ek bhi nahi hai. Dekh liya na?”

Once the Lok Sabha was adjourned after Mamata finished her Rail Budget speech,Lalu quietly got up from his front row seat and moved towards her. But as Mamata was thronged by several MPs listing their set of demands,Lalu walked up to the table of the House personnel and asked for a copy of Mamata’s speech. Flipping through the pages,he hung around,probably wanting to share a word with her. But the opportunity never came as Mamata rushed out of the House. Lalu,after sharing some thoughts with Mulayam Singh Yadav,was probably the last MP to leave the House.