Trinamool Congress leader Chandrima Bhattacharya's claim that she was kept in the dark about the West Bengal Budget until hours before she presented it as Finance Minister, and Dinesh Trivedi's forced exit from the Railway Ministry in 2012 following a controversial fare hike, together trace a recurring pattern of ministerial marginalisation within the party.

Bhattacharya's Budget exclusion

Shortly after relinquishing her party posts, Bhattacharya alleged that the state Budget was never discussed with her, nor shared with her until just hours before it was made public — this despite being the Finance Minister appointed by party Chairperson and then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The allegations point to a near-total centralisation of policy control at the top of the party hierarchy.

The pattern reportedly extends further. When the 2021 Budget was presented, Mamata Banerjee claimed she had prepared the document while walking on her treadmill — a statement that drew widespread scrutiny over the actual role of the Finance Minister. There were also allegations that Mamata passed a note to Bhattacharya during the Budget speech itself, directing her to announce a dearness allowance (DA) hike for state government employees.

Dinesh Trivedi's 2012 exit

Some 14 years ago, Dinesh Trivedi faced a strikingly similar episode. After presenting a Railway Budget that proposed across-the-board fare hikes — including nominal increases in lower-class fares — he was compelled to resign, apparently under pressure from party leadership. Sources close to him said he had sought time with the party supremo to discuss the matter; when that meeting did not materialise, he left details with a close confidante in the then Chief Minister's Office in Kolkata.

Trivedi, who had taken charge as Railway Minister in the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance-II (UPA-II) government after Mamata vacated the post to become West Bengal Chief Minister, was reportedly aware of her populist instincts. He was nonetheless convinced that the Railways required structural reform — particularly on safety and finances — and that a fare revision was unavoidable.

His successor, Mukul Roy, swiftly announced that fare hikes for second-class suburban and non-suburban sleeper, AC chair car, and AC three-tier would remain unchanged. Notably, however, there was no mention of reversing the 15 paise and 30 paise per km increases in AC two-tier and AC-1 fares respectively, which Trivedi had originally proposed. Critics at the time said the episode illustrated the government capitulating to its coalition ally at the cost of key reform measures.

A structural pattern of centralised control

Both episodes share a common thread: ministers who are nominally responsible for major policy decisions are either excluded from the process or overruled after the fact, with the party's central leadership retaining effective control. In Trivedi's case, the Railway Budget was partly redrafted after his removal. In Bhattacharya's case, she was allegedly excluded from the Budget process altogether.

In both instances, the concerned official publicly resigned from their respective posts — a rare and pointed act in Indian coalition politics. Trivedi's humiliation at the time was, to some extent, overshadowed by the euphoria of the party's historic 2011 West Bengal Assembly victory, which ended 34 years of Left Front rule. Bhattacharya's allegations, by contrast, have surfaced against the backdrop of the party's recent Assembly election loss and visible internal discontent.

Context and consequences

Trivedi's 2012 Budget had also proposed institutional reforms — including a tariff regulator and a restructuring of the Railway Board — framed as essential for long-term financial health. The party's populist response reversed many of these measures, and Trivedi paid the political price. Today, he serves as India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh, elevated to the rank of Cabinet Minister.

The Congress, it bears noting, was part of the first Mamata-led coalition government in West Bengal, formed after the Left Front's defeat in 2011. As the party now grapples with fresh internal turbulence, questions about its internal governance model — and whether ministers hold meaningful authority — are once again in sharp focus.