Missing links

The suspense over an ordinance on the much-awaited National Food Security Bill reached a crescendo early last week following reports that the subject was listed for discussion in the weekly Cabinet meeting. The suspense grew because Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath was slated to address the media on that day's Cabinet decisions. In the end, though, Nath's name was dropped from the list of ministers who would brief the press, leaving it to Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari to do so. No one knows whether his absence was deliberate because his nameplate remained in front of an empty chair, causing a senior official to point to it and tease the media by saying Nath may not be on the dais, but he could well be sitting somewhere in the room.