Union Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will skip his boss Pranab Mukherjee's Budget presentation on Friday.
According to reports, Palanimanickam is busy in election campaign in Tamil Nadu.
But political observers in New Delhi are interpreting it as a pressure tactic by the DMK ahead of the Sri Lankan war crimes resolution that will come up in Geneva on March 23.
The United Progressive Alliance government is non-committal on the resolution.
The DMK wants the Manmohan Singh-led government to take a stand, which will satisfy Tamil Nadu and in particular Tamilians in the northern parts of Sri Lanka.
Another Cabinet minister, MK Alagiri will also skip the Lok Sabha on Budget day.