Speculation rife about Dinesh Trivedi joining BJP

KOLKATA: Days after a Trinamool Congress minister joined BJP, speculation is rife about another TMC leader and former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi switching to the saffron camp even as he evaded questions in this regard.

Asked, Trivedi said "I really don't like to predict anything. For me the country comes first ... At the end of the day why are we in public life ... The bigger picture is the country.

"It is not the question of switching from one platform to another. We need to change the DNA of Indian politics and whatever it takes for doing that, I think we should do that," he told a TV channel.

Trivedi, a TMC MP from Barrackpur, was removed as the railway minister of the erstwhile UPA government after party supremo Mamata Banerjee sought his removal following increase in passenger fare in 2012.

He was replaced by party's Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Roy as the railway minister.

Manjul Krishna Thakur, a minister in the Mamata Banerjee government had resigned last week and joined BJP.