Lalu refuses to comment on his inclusion in Union cabinet

RJD President and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad today refused to comment on his chances of being included in the new Cabinet, with a section of Congress leaders opposed to his inclusion.     

"It is not the issue right now. I am going to Delhi to attend the meeting of the fourth front to discuss our future course of action and the electoral reverses suffered in Bihar," he told reporters before emplaning for New Delhi.     

Lalu, who is scheduled to attend a meeting of the Union cabinet tomorrow after getting a call from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi last evening, expressed happiness at the remarkable victory of Congress in the Lok Sabha elections.     

"I am very happy that a Congress-led government is all set to be formed at the Centre and the communal forces led by BJP have been wiped out," he said.     

Lalu had not been attending cabinet meetings ever since he forged an alliance with LJP and Samajwadi Party in Bihar and UP jettisoning the Congress.     

He had received a call from Sonia Gandhi late last evening during which the Congress President was reported to have asked him to attend the cabinet meeting tomorrow.     

Earlier, Congress leader Rajiv Shukla estranged allies Samajwadi Party and RJD, which had contested on their own, should not be part of the next government.     

"The fact remains both Lalu Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav are not the core allies (of Congress). They have not contested with us. They contested on their own and Congress contested on its own in both the states," he said.