In a huff

It may be a coincidence, but Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee hasn’t attended any cabinet meeting after she almost threatened to walk out of a cabinet meeting in the third week of July over the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill. On that occasion, Banerjee had to argue with not only Rural Development Minister C P Joshi but also other Congress ministers like Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal who wanted to pass the bill immediately. While she has been in West Bengal for her political programmes, she was in Delhi in the first week of August when a Cabinet meeting took place. On that occasion, she chose to attend a private party of a party colleague instead.