Tiwari scandal opens MEA’s can of worms

Nevertheless, even a cursory investigation into the Tiwari affairsreveals unusual linkages with a much bigger game currently being playedout in the MEA: Who will be India’s next Foreign Secretary, as well as,who will be New Delhi’s new appointees in Washington as well as London.

Tiwari’s personal abuse of government finances is confirmed by high-level sources in the ministry. Curiously, though, while it is being put out that Tiwari committed “serious and severe financial irregularities”, it is believed that the envoy may actually be guilty of “relatively small corruption.”

The MEA reportedly found inflation of bills and overcharging worth a “few thousands” (of rupees). However, it is agreed all around that corruption involving even a single rupee must attract severe punishment. The ministry, interestingly, raised the issue only after Tiwari refused to take up the Cairo posting.

Tiwari’s real fault, the sources said, is said to be his persistent arrogance with his colleagues as well as his superiors. As his termended in Vienna, he put out that he wanted to return to Delhi — as thetopper of the 1966 batch he would have had a good shot at being foreignsecretary if he was in the Capital — and not sent on another posting.

The bosses in South Block, however, had a different vision of things.First of all, the move to make Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh the nextHigh Commissioner to the UK is rapidly gathering ground. (Incidentally,the name of N.K. Singh, secretary in the PMO, is doing the rounds as the nextambassador to Washington.) So much so that current envoy Nareshwar Dayalhas been given a four-month extension to stay on in London — or untilMansingh retires from his post.

And the next Foreign Secretary? It is said that on top of the BJPgovernment’s list is Kanwal Sibal, currently India’s ambassador toFrance, but number two to Tiwari in the 1966 list. Third on that list isRonendra Sen, India’s envoy to Berlin.

It is said that various alternatives are being considered in the ministry to clear the path for Sibal. Tiwari was to be sent out of town to Egypt for a start. When he didn’t agree, his alleged misdemeanours came in handy. The second plan is to send additional secretary R.S. Kalha, seniormost in Delhi to succeed Mansingh, to Germany in the place of Sen. Sen could move to Canada, while the present High Commissioner there Rajnikant Verma would move to Thailand and R.K. Rai brought back to Delhi from Bangkok.

But besides Kalha, there are three other officers in Delhi who must besuperceded if Sibal is to get the hot seat: Dalip Mehta, currently deanin the Foreign Services Institute, Satish Chandra, the head of theNational Security Council secretariat and Sudhir Devare, secretary incharge of economic relations.

Whatever the future holds for them, the move to send Mansingh back toLondon — he came from there to take over the post of Foreign Secretary — hasmystified many in the ministry. One reason is that if that happens, oneof the best jobs in the foreign service would be taken away by a formerdiplomat.

There is also much speculation over why the government would possiblylike to reward Mansingh — especially since similar moves in the recentpast with other former foreign secretaries (such as K. Raghunathafter Pokharan and J.N. Dixit during the Narasimha Rao government) have been summarily shot down.