Telling omission

Ruling and Opposition parties rarely see eye-to-eye in India, and Tamil Nadu is no exception. The political rivalry between members of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in the state is such that they don’t appear to recognise each other even at events that have nothing to do with politics. At a recent pre-Budget meeting, the printed speech of Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thiru O Panneerselvam addressed Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Minister of State Namo Narain Meena, finance ministers of state governments and officials from the Centre and other states. But it didn’t mention the name of his fellow Minister of State S S Palanimanickam, who was present but belongs to the DMK. Oversight or is there more to it?