Speaker gives LS Secy-Gen extension,Sushma objects

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has objected to Speaker Meira Kumars decision to grant a one-year extension to Lok Sabha Secretary-General T K Viswanathan,saying that he was not suited for the post. In a letter sent to Kumar on Tuesday,Swaraj listed three objections to the manner in which the decision hellip;

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has objected to Speaker Meira Kumars decision to grant a one-year extension to Lok Sabha Secretary-General T K Viswanathan,saying that he was not suited for the post.

In a letter sent to Kumar on Tuesday,Swaraj listed three objections to the manner in which the decision was taken as well as the appointment itself. First,Swaraj said,the Speaker had failed to hold the required meeting with her and Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee. Second,she claimed that Kumar has been repeatedly overlooking the claims of the officers belonging to the Lok Sabha cadre. And third,the conduct and temperament of the incumbent Secretary-General is not suited to the post.

Viswanathan,63,who joined the legal service in 1988,retired as Law Secretary in 2009. He was appointed as adviser to the Law Minister thereafter,and selected as the Lok Sabha Secretary-General last year.

In her letter,Swaraj reminded Kumar that she had told her at the time of Viswanathans appointment last year that the Secretary-General should be selected from within the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

She quoted Kumar as having told her then that no officer from the Lok Sabha Secretariat was eligible for the post and therefore,she would appoint Viswanathan for 11 months,while keeping in mind the point made by Swaraj the next year. I had given my concurrence to this, said Swaraj.

Swaraj contended that the appointment of a retired officer from a different cadre,overlooking the claims of LS cadre officers,would disappoint and demoralise them.

Relations between Kumar and Swaraj seemed to be strained in the recent past. Swaraj,in the course of her speech on the Lokpal issue on Saturday,openly questioned the Speakers decision to allow Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi to make a 15-minute speech during zero hour on Friday. Sources said Swaraj was unhappy with Kumar for not allowing her to finish her speech when her calling attention motion on the Telangana issue was taken up.

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This is not the first time that the Speakers decision to grant an extension to an incumbent Secretary-General has encountered resistance. The then Leader of Opposition L K Advani had opposed Kumars decision to grant a one-year extension to Viswanathans predecessor P D T Achary in 2009.

However,the situation has changed since then following the controversy over the appointment of P J Thomas as the CVC. In this case,Swaraj has not only opposed the grant of an extension to Viswanathan,but also stated the grounds for her objection.