Mamata cries at Cabinet, gets her way

New Delhi: On Friday, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee was taken to task in a Cabinet meeting by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, over her hurry to implement 24 projects ahead of the Railway Budget.

Mamata wanted these projects to be funded by the Finance Ministry, while Pranab insisted that the money be raised through the public-private partnership.

Pranab's tough stance led to a spat between the two, which ended with Mamata breaking down into tears.

Eventually, the Finance Minister did approve the projects 'in principal', though with a caution to the Prime Minister regarding their impact on the Ministry's balance sheet.