Cabinet minus ministers

Although the Union Cabinet held a meeting to condole the death of former president R Venkatraman, not many members could attend. The reason: The meeting was convened at a very short notice. One minister of state was sitting in North Block when he got a call on his mobile phone just two minutes before the meeting was scheduled to start. When he reached the meeting room, other members were coming out. Some other ministers were not present in New Delhi. According to one estimate, around 10-12 ministers were present to pass a resolution on Venkataraman’s death.