This Article is From Jan 29, 2015

Was Part of Decision to Appoint Dr Jaishankar, Says Sushma Swaraj

Was Part of Decision to Appoint Dr Jaishankar, Says Sushma Swaraj

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said she was part of the government's decision-making process to remove foreign secretary Sujatha Singh and appoint Dr S Jaishankar in her place. In a series of tweets, Ms Swaraj also said she had broken the news to Ms Singh.  

The minister's clarification came in the wake of reports that the surprise appointment of Dr Jaishankar, India's envoy to the US, was made without her approval. The government, it was reported, had informed her of its decision and had gone ahead even though she was not too enthusiastic.


The minister, it was said, preferred that Ms Singh completed her two-year tenure. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi was said to have been keen to get Dr Jaishankar on board.

Ms Singh's tenure was curtailed on Wednesday, even though she had seven months to go before retirement. Premature removal of the head of the elite foreign services is rare - the last time it happened was in the late 1980s.  

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