"Goal pe goal daag rahe hain, Desh ka bachcha bole, Chak de Railways!" ¹ Its not just this statement which makes us feel that Laloo Prasad can be equated to Kabir Khan, a celluloid character played by Shah Rukh Khan in the movie, Chak De! India.
Rather, it's the way Laloo Yadav has brought about a turn-around as far as Indian Railways is concerned.

Mr. Yadav has, for the last five years, consistently produced budgets that have catered to the requirements of the 'aam aadmi'. Whether it has been his much hyped 'garib raths', or better job opportunities for the poorer sections of the society, or a cut in passenger fares. The present budget mentions tangible discounts in passenger and freight fares, apart from special discount fares for the elderly women populace in India. The budget also takes into account the academic requirements of boys and girls. Free travel for girls upto graduation and till the 12th class for boys is definitely something that no former railway minister, I suppose, had ever thought of announcing. Better sanitation has been promised inside the compartments for travellers.

Another ace that has been served by Laloo Yadav has been the announcement that railway porters will be elevated to the status of gangmen. This can surely be considered one strategy which can ensure positive results for the UPA in the 2009 general elections. Additional facilities like satellite televisions on trains, ticket vending machines, ticket booking through mobile phones, are some other aspects of the budget which reflect the tech-savvy character of the Railway Minister.

I can't help but praise this character called Laloo Prasad Yadav who, till the other day, was considered best at milking cows and buffaloes, making sarcastic comments at his opponents, and accepting the endless jokes in his name in a very sporting spirit. This man, just like Kabir Khan of Chak De! India, took over the job as a Railway Minister when the ministry was more or less in doldrums. It was awaiting an imminent but gradual death in the years to come. But like Kabir, this man was determined and had a certain goal in his mind. He knew a turn-around was possible. Only certain shortcomings needed to be plugged, and most importantly, the attitude of people in his ministry had to change. Indian Railways, from being a perennial loss making concern, is today an outfit that can boast of having earned INR 67,000 Crore² within a span of four years. The turn-around has come under the able stewardship of Laloo Yadav.

Kabir Khan did nothing more than being a guide, a motivator, an effective fault-finder and fixer, and an exemplary team builder. Laloo Prasad Yadav has played a similar role as the Railway Minister. It has been due to his meticulously executed turn-around strategies that he was called as a guest lecturer at the Harvard Business School and at IIM Ahmedabad. By mentioning the slogan Chak De Railways! while presenting the Railway Budget 2008, Laloo Yadav seems to have left little doubts in our minds that he is Kabir Khan of the Indian Railway Ministry.

Concluded.

1 "Chuck De! Railways, chuckles Lalu", http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1263151, February 26th 2008.
2 "A please-all Railway Budget", http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1263042, February 26th 2008.

* Contributed by -
Kisholoy Roy,
MBA (Marketing),
Content Editor, Infoedge Management Solutions.