Railway minister skips Cabinet meet due to bribery case row

Railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal skipped a Cabinet meet at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence on Thursday even as Law Minister Ashwani Kumar attended it. Both Bansal and Ashwani are under fire over the Railway Board bribery case and the coal scam probe respectively.

Sources had earlier said that the Congress wanted the PM to decide on Ashwani's fate. Sources said the PM was seriously considering the possibility of replacing Ashwani.

The PM met President Pranab Mukherjee and discussed the political situation. But before that meet, there was high drama as Ashwani Kumar turned up at the PMO, but was denied a meeting with Manmohan Singh.

Earlier in the day, Attorney General GE Vahanvati met the PM. Vahanvati had told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that he met CBI officials over the coal block report at the Law Minister's instance.