Family support

The introduction of Food Security Bill was quite an occasion for Food Minister K V Thomas.

Family support

The introduction of Food Security Bill was quite an occasion for Food Minister K V Thomas. He not only got his top officials seated in the officers gallery,but invited his family members as well to witness the occasion. His wife Sherly Thomas watched him from the distinguished visitors gallery while his daughter-in-law and grand-daughter were seated in the Speakers gallery. Thomas is also learnt to have distributed sweets in his Ministry after introducing the Bill and thanked his officers for making the effort. He then left for his home state of Kerala for a Christmas break.

DINNER reservation

IT is party time for MPs belonging to other backward classes. A day after the government acceded to their long-pending demand and constituted a Parliamentary committee for the welfare of OBCs,Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha Rao has decided to host a dinner to celebrate the occasion. And just like the mandate of the committee,the dinner is restricted only to OBC MPs.

TOP POSTING

THE vacant position of Secretary Security in the Cabinet Secretariat has finally been filled. The government has appointed A B Mathur in the position. The position was lying vacant ever since Pranay Sahay had taken over as director general of Sashastra Seema Bal. Mathur,a 1975-batch IPS officer,was heading the air wing of RAW. He has also served in the Intelligence Bureau as well.

BOOSTER DOSE

THE Congress hopes its prospects in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections will get a further boost after the Cabinets approval of 4.5 per cent reservation for minorities within the OBC quota. Before Anna Hazare had launched the agitation early this year,an internal survey of the party had given it 100 seats,which had come down to 70 after Hazares fast last August. The party appeared to have regained ground in subsequent weeks as a recent survey pegged the Congresss tally at 83. The ruling party at the Centre is now hoping to cross the three-digit figure in UP,in the survey at least,after the Cabinet decision on Thursday.

PROTEST CHORUS

THERE seems to be a growing list of chief ministers opposed to the Food Security Bill. After Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa,Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik has written to the Prime Minister on this issue. And like his counterpart from Tamil Nadu,Patnaik has also raised objections over the lesser coverage of subsidised foodgrain under the proposed law compared to what his government was already providing. He has demanded that coverage be universalised.