Of the 12 occasions on which the Union Cabinet has met since the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) returned to power, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee has attended just five.

In choosing to absent herself from the latest meeting of the country’s highest executive decision making body on September 10, Banerjee not only worsened her attendance record further, but also ensured that her ministry’s proposal seeking a Rs 17,700 crore Japanese loan to fund Indian Railways flagship project—the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, could not be taken up.

The last Cabinet meeting Banerjee attended was on August 27. In fact, after the July 23 Cabinet meeting where Banerjee was said to have almost walked out opposing the Land Acquisition Bill, she skipped three consecutive Cabinet meetings—on August 6, 13 and 20.

But for the fact that the Cabinet did not meet thrice—on July 9, 16 and 30, Banerjee’s attendance record would have been much poorer.

While her spending more time in Kolkata than in Delhi is one of the main reasons behind her poor attendance in the Cabinet, there has been at least one instance, on August 6, when she did not attend the Cabinet meeting despite being in Delhi. Off the record, her close aides in Rail Bhavan have been trying to defend Didi’s absence arguing that it was due to the fact that no railways related matter was slated for the Cabinet’s approval. But on September 10 Banerjee failed to turn up for the Cabinet meeting despite the Japanese loan for DFC listed on the agenda.

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