Protest in absentia

TMC minister Mukul Roy condemns govt's move to raise diesel prices even though he was not present at the meeting

Trinamool Congress minister Mukul Roy, who was loud in his condemnation of the government’s move to raise diesel prices, stoutly denied that his absence at the crucial Cabinet committee meeting that took this decision was a deliberate, politically expedient move. Roy said he had informed the prime minister in advance about his absence; the new President Pranab Mukherjee was making his first visit to West Bengal and he (Roy) needed to be there. Thoroughly unconvinced by his arguments, a Union minister said he, too, was scheduled to attend the felicitation functions in Bengal but chose to delay his departure by a day because Cabinet meetings had been lined up this week in the capital. If the Trinamool intended to oppose the decision, it would have made it a point to be there at the meeting, the minister pointed out.