Meeting & mourning

What’s in a name? A lot,Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh would tell you. His plan to publicise the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) by organising a fair in the Capital on February 2 threatened to fall through,what with a week-long national mourning following the death of former president R Venkataraman and with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hospitalised. Plans for a mela at such a time would have raised many eyebrows. However,Singh had already shot off a letter to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to attend,in place of the PM. Congress president Sonia Gandhi was also seen to be taking keen interest as was evident from her political secretary Ahmed Patels calls to the ministry. Rather than let the opportunity pass,the minister found a way out. Instead of NREGS Mela,the meeting will now be called the safer,sober NREGS Conference.