Replaces sacked Sujatha Singh
Subramanyam Jaishankar, former Indian ambassador to the US, yesterday took charge as foreign secretary, hours after he was appointed as the country’s top diplomat replacing Sujatha Singh.
“My priorities are the government’s priorities. So, I think at this time let’s leave it at that…,” said Jaishankar, a 1977-batch IFS officer, describing his new position as an “honour and a big responsibility”.
An official statement issued late on Wednesday night said the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet had approved the “curtailment of the tenure” of Sujatha Singh as foreign secretary with immediate effect.
The committee appointed Dr S Jaishankar as foreign secretary with the tenure of two years from the date of assumption of charge or until further orders, it said.
The decision to remove Sujatha and appoint Jaishankar was taken at a meeting of the Appointments Committee presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Indian government’s action sparked a sharp reaction from the main opposition Congress while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party said the government was within its right to appoint officers.
Jaishankar was appointed foreign secretary two days before his retirement from Indian Foreign Service (IFS) on January 31 and a day after US President Barack Obama left India at the end of a three-day visit.
Jaishankar, who was earlier India’s ambassador to China, is credited with the turnaround in India’s relationship with the US in the last one year.
He went to the US at a time when the Devyani Khobragade affair had impacted the Delhi-Washington ties in December 2013 when Congress was in power in India and Sujatha was foreign secretary.
With Modi at the helm, Jaishankar successfully turned around the relationship — first by organising Indian PM’s US visit in September last year, and then implementing his idea of getting US President Barack Obama as the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations.
Jaishankar, who has a PhD in international relations, is one of the early negotiators of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal in 2005.
He is said to have gained the trust of Modi government due to his diplomatic skills and knowledge on the challenges confronting Indo-US relations in particular, and the world at large.
Indian newspapers reported yesterday while External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj wanted Sujatha Singh to complete her tenure as foreign secretary, Modi was not in favour of it.
Sujatha was not present when Jaishankar, son of Indian strategic affairs expert K Subramanyam, took charge at the South Block office.
It was in 1987 when the then Indian foreign secretary A P Venkateshwaran was unceremoniously removed by Rajiv Gandhi as prime minister.
However, Jaishankar’s appointment as foreign secretary evoked a sharp reaction from Congress which questioned the timing of the government’s decision to remove Sujatha as foreign secretary and wondered whether it was “retribution” for her stand on Devyani Khobragade.
Defending the move to replace Sujatha, BJP ruled out any political motive and said the government had acted well within its rights.
Source: The Daily Star
