By Prashant Jha/New Delhi
As the controversy about S Jaishankar’s appointment as foreign secretary dissipates, the Indian Foreign Service is looking forward to a realignment of the equation between the prime minister’s office (PMO) and the ministry of external affairs (MEA) - with the latter reoccupying its space as the rightful custodian of foreign affairs.
Multiple officials and diplomats said the PMO would continue to have a strong voice on foreign policy, especially with an assertive prime minister like Narendra Modi. The fact that Jaishankar is trusted by the prime minister will mean greater autonomy for MEA after years, they said.
A serving ambassador, referring to the previous government, said: “Even under the UPA, the PMO - especially National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon - was calling the shots. Many believed that it was a deliberate decision to have relatively weaker foreign secretaries so that this control would not weaken.”
The outcome was that ambassadors were almost directly reporting to the NSA on key matters, with cables copied to the foreign secretary, be it Ranjan Mathai or Nirupama Rao - but these officials had little policy-making role on key issues.
This pattern continued after May 2014, when the Congress lost power and the Bharatiya Janata Party under Modi assumed power.
The NSA himself did not get too involved in the management of the ministry. But foreign secretary Sujatha Singh did not have the prime minister’s confidence. And even External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was not able to assert her authority, playing a secondary role to the prime minister.
So, the prime minister depended on Joint Secretary in the PMO from external affair ministry, Jawed Ashraf, who provided key policy inputs and drafted most of Modi’s big foreign policy speeches. For bilateral visits, the joint secretary in charge of the desk or the ambassador concerned was consulted directly by the PMO, with the foreign secretary playing a very limited role.
Another senior official said: “The PM has shown great confidence in appointing a strong, perhaps the most outstanding officer of our generation, as FS now.”
He predicted that Jaishankar will be given a strong hand.
Jaishankar’s views on key personnel appointments, the approach towards any emerging crisis, and overall direction of foreign policy will be critical, most officials felt. This, another source said, is good for the morale of foreign service officers as well as the ministry.
“Singh spoke about institutional strength in her parting letter to us. Ironically, her exit has paved the way for the institution to regain its strength.”
Singh was not the first official to be handed the pink slip after the BJP swept to power.
The government cut short Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) director general Avinash Chander’s three-year term by 15 months and told him go a fortnight ago.
In November, Special Protection Group chief K Durga Prasad was told his services were no longer needed. The order came when he was in Nepal - protecting Modi.
The government had shunted out finance secretary Arvind Mayaram and revenue secretary Rajiv Takru to make way for Rajasthan chief secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and Hasmukh Adhia, the additional chief secretary in Gujarat.
An official said Modi relies heavily on bureaucrats to design, package and execute his ideas - a space where the highly-experienced Russian and Mandarin-speaking Jaishankar fits easily.
The government was pressed for time because it had to appoint him before January 31 as the next foreign secretary, a post that gives him two more years in service. Had it been a day late, Jaishankar - who turned 60 this month - would have had to retire from service.
Singh became the second foreign secretary to lose her job after A P Venkateswaran in 1987.
Venkateswaran put in his papers after then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi snubbed him for apparently announcing a visit to Pakistan without his approval a month in advance. “You will be talking to a new foreign secretary soon,” Gandhi had said.
The officer later told his friends: “Life without honour is not worth living at all.”
In 2004, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government sacked cabinet secretary Kamal Pande who was serving a two-year fixed term. Pande, however, accepted a “post-retirement” posting as chairman of the India Trade Promotion Organisation.- Hindustan Times/MCT
Jaishankar: outstanding officer
