Empty berths

It is well known that both Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri fail to attend the weekly Cabinet meetings. At a recent meeting of the Cabinet, when both were missing, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was upset enough to say that all members of the Cabinet were expected to attend Cabinet meetings. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh instructed Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrashekhar to convey the sentiments of the finance minister to the absentee members.