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Cong BJP spat over Foreign Secy
The unceremonious sacking of Sujatha Singh as Foreign Secretary has triggered a war of words between the opposition and the government. Appointment of S Jaishankar, India\'s envoy to the US, to India’s top diplomat post, within 24 hours after Obama tour, raised the hackles of the opposition which has attributed ulterior motive to the government action.
New Delhi: The unceremonious sacking of Sujatha Singh as Foreign Secretary has triggered a war of words between the opposition and the government. Appointment of S Jaishankar, India's envoy to the US, to India’s top diplomat post, within 24 hours after Obama tour, raised the hackles of the opposition which has attributed ulterior motive to the government action.
The Congress questioned the decision to "curtail the tenure" of his predecessor Sujatha Singh and demanded an explanation for the abrupt change. "You do not remove even your domestic staff in such a manner," the Congress party said. It linked the decision to the visit of the US President and Singh's stand on the Devyani Khobragade issue.
Senior party spokesman Anand Sharma accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "tearing to shreds" the well considered policy of having fixed tenures for top secretaries in the government like those of Home, Defence, Finance and Foreign Ministries. "Foreign secretary is head of foreign services... before you start gerrymandering with seniority and fixed tenure, you need to very categorically explain as to what is the reason for doing so," Congress leader Manish Tewari said.
“Is there a linkage between the stand which Sujatha Singh took on the Devyani matter and this is a belated retribution?” he said. The BJP, however, retorted that it is within the government's right to take decisions on appointments.
