Mamata skips Cabinet meeting

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today skipped the meeting of the Union Cabinet which was convened to take a decision on recommending imposition of President's Rule in Jharkhand.

Banerjee was in Delhi when the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took place but she did not attend, official sources said.

It is not for the first time that Banerjee has stayed away from the meeting of the Union Cabinet since she has skipped it on previous occasions too.

Banerjee's action came a day after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram debunked the "political conspiracy" theory floated by her to target CPI-M in connection with the Jnaneswari Express derailment in Midnapore last Saturday in which 148 persons were killed. In a rebuff to Banerjee, Chidambaram said the "needle of suspicion" in the derailment pointed to Maoists or organisations linked to them.

On one occasion last year, it was stated that Banerjee did not attend as no issue concerning her ministry was to be discussed at the Cabinet. Banerjee had again skipped the Cabinet meet ostensibly because she had to "rush" to Kolkata.

Banerjee once almost walked out of the Cabinet meeting over the proposed land acquisition bill.

Downplaying her absence from the Union Cabinet meeting, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today said there are no differences between her party and Congress and she will attend the UPA report card meeting.

"There are no differences between Trinamool Congress and Congress...We are absolutely comfortable...I have great respect for the Prime Minister," Banerjee said after she skipped the cabinet meeting,