Staff Reporter / New Delhi
In a development that has generated considerable interest in political circles, five-time former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who recently stepped down from office, has been nominated to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways.
A former Union Railway Minister in the NDA government, Nitish Kumar is widely credited with steering the Railways during a significant phase of his political career. His nomination to the parliamentary panel overseeing railway affairs is being viewed as a return to a sector with which he shares a long and distinguished association.
The veteran leader, now in his seventies, has traversed a remarkable political journey spanning several decades and alliances. Having once occupied the top post in the Railway Ministry, he will now serve in a parliamentary oversight role, scrutinising policies and functioning of the national transporter.
Political observers note the irony of the development. Nitish Kumar had presented the Railway Budget multiple times as Railway Minister, a practice that was once one of the most closely watched events in Parliament. However, under the present dispensation, the separate Railway Budget has been discontinued and merged with the Union Budget, ending a long-standing parliamentary tradition.
His induction into the Railways Standing Committee is expected to bring his extensive administrative experience to the panel at a time when the Indian Railways is undergoing rapid expansion and modernisation. The move has also triggered speculation about the veteran leader’s future political role at the national level following his exit from the Bihar Chief Minister’s office.