Saturday, December 17, 2011: Continuing his efforts to evolve a consensus on Food Bill, Food Minister KV Thomas on Friday called on four more ministers, including Home Minister P Chidambaram, to discuss about the proposed law.Besides Chidambaram, Thomas met Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal, Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, sources said.
“Food Minister has met eight Cabinet ministers in the last two days on the issue of Food Bill. They have been briefed about the salient features of the proposed law,” sources said. Yesterday, Thomas had met New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Science Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily.
Sources said Thomas may meet a few more ministers on Sunday after he returns from his home constituency in Kerala. Thomas has started the one-to-one consultation process with senior ministers ahead of the Cabinet meeting, scheduled for December 19.
Earlier this week, the Cabinet had deferred a decision on the National Food Security Bill - the pet project of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi - due to paucity of time as well as opposition from Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. The government wants to introduce the Bill in the winter session of the Parliament, which will end on December 22.
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