Quite at home

P Chidambaram may have a new job as home minister, but continues to dabble in affairs pertaining to his old job at finance. He stood in for the prime minister in Parliament, answering questions on his old ministry the other day. The two ministers of state, Pawan Kumar Bansal and SS Palanimanickam, continue to look to him for guidance; and the State Bank of India’s 11,111th branch in Kamrup in Assam was inaugurated by him, an honour usually reserved for ministers of finance.