In an unusual scene at Rail Bhavan on Tuesday, railway minister Mamata Banerjee was seen pleading with Railway Board chairman Vivek Sahai in an overflowing conference hall to give Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning wrestler Sushil Kumar, a railway employee, a promotion for his feat. “Double ho jayega (It will be like a double promotion),” Mr Sahai responded, explaining why this was not possible.
Mr Sahai’s observation was in response to Ms Banerjee’s plea: “De do na, kya hai... (Do grant it, what does it matter...?). Eventually, Mr Sahai quipped: “After the Olympics!” The brief, and unprecedented, exchange was over.
This happened at an event where Ms Banerjee was to felicitate Games medal winners with substantial cash awards. Sushil was among those present, and the exchange occurred after Mr Sahai informed the minister that Sushil had just been promoted from assistant commercial manager to senior commercial manager. This, an official said, had been done after Sushil’s triumph in the recent world wrestling championships.