Outgoing Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Friday unsuccessfully sought divine intervention to ward off "bad luck".
In the eye of a storm following the arrest of his nephew for "auctioning" top Railway posts, Bansal performed a puja at his Ashoka Road residence here and fed a goat brought specially for this purpose. It could not be ascertained if the animal was sacrificed.
Bansal's wife Madhu also attended the prayers after which the Minister fed the goat at the portico of his official residence. Bansal went to Rail Bhavan only after offering prayers. The Minister did not attend office on Thursday and remained confined to his Ashoka Road residence. His associates claimed the minister was not well.
Bansal was under tremendous pressure to quit after the CBI arrested his nephew Vijay Singla and his aide for receiving Rs 90 lakh as bribe from Railway Board Member (Staff) Mahesh Kumar for his appointment as Member (Electrical). Though Bansal distanced himself from his nephew, but this could not prevent his ouster.
Bansal is considered close to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and he was the first Congress leader in the last 17 years to hold the coveted Railway Minister's portfolio.