<p>Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan are likely to skip a meeting of the union cabinet called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Friday, sources said. <br /><br />The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chiefs, key members of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), seem to be miffed over Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's praise of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, they said.<br /><br />At a press conference in the capital earlier this week, Rahul Gandhi had antagonised Lalu Prasad and Paswan by praising Janata Dal-United's chief minister Nitish Kumar's developmental work in Bihar.<br />"There is no programme to go to Delhi. He is busy meeting party workers," said Lalu Prasad's close aide in Patna. <br /><br />According to Paswan's office, he was busy attending election meetings in Kolkata and was scheduled to arrive in Delhi only late Saturday.<br /><br />Elections for the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar ended Thursday in the fourth round of polling.<br />The cabinet meeting is expected to review president's rule in Meghalaya and also examine certain international agreements, said Prithviraj Chauhan, minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office.<br /><br />"It is a routine cabinet meeting. One should not read much if they (Lalu and Paswan) do not come. I have not heard anything," Chauhan told IANS.<br /><br />The central government imposed president's rule in Meghalaya on March 19, a day after the state government narrowly survived a trust vote with the help of the assembly speaker. <br /></p>
<p>Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan are likely to skip a meeting of the union cabinet called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Friday, sources said. <br /><br />The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chiefs, key members of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), seem to be miffed over Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's praise of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, they said.<br /><br />At a press conference in the capital earlier this week, Rahul Gandhi had antagonised Lalu Prasad and Paswan by praising Janata Dal-United's chief minister Nitish Kumar's developmental work in Bihar.<br />"There is no programme to go to Delhi. He is busy meeting party workers," said Lalu Prasad's close aide in Patna. <br /><br />According to Paswan's office, he was busy attending election meetings in Kolkata and was scheduled to arrive in Delhi only late Saturday.<br /><br />Elections for the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar ended Thursday in the fourth round of polling.<br />The cabinet meeting is expected to review president's rule in Meghalaya and also examine certain international agreements, said Prithviraj Chauhan, minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office.<br /><br />"It is a routine cabinet meeting. One should not read much if they (Lalu and Paswan) do not come. I have not heard anything," Chauhan told IANS.<br /><br />The central government imposed president's rule in Meghalaya on March 19, a day after the state government narrowly survived a trust vote with the help of the assembly speaker. <br /></p>