New Delhi
11 March 2008
The Ministry of External Affairs has told Ms Veena Sikri, the senior-
most IFS (Indian Foreign Service) officer in the country today, that she is being punished
for raising questions about the appointment of Mr Shivshankar Menon as the Foreign
Secretary.
Consequently, Ms Sikri's request for being considered for the posts of Permanent
Representative of India to the United Nations in New York or High Commissioner of India
to London or SAARC Secretary General have been turned down.
The government has since extended Permanent Representative to UN Nirupam Sen's
tenure by one year. It appointed Mr Shiv Shankar Mukherjee and Mr Sheel Kant Sharma -
- both junior to her -- as High Commissioner to London and SAARC Secretary General,
respectively.
"Officially no reasons have been given for denying me these assignments. Informally, I
have been told that I should not aspire to any of the top posts and that I am being
'punished' for raising questions about the appointment of the Foreign Secretary," Ms
Sikri told this newspaper.
"I have been greatly disturbed by such innuendos," she said, adding that government
rules, including most recently the Right to Information Act, 2005 have provisions and
procedures for individual officers to seek clarifications in respect of specific
administrative decisions.
It is a matter of legitimate concern and disquiet in a democratic society if officers who
followed the prescribed process are to be penalised, she said.
Ms Sikri has written to Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee seeking redressal.
In it, she tells him that she has been on leave for 15 months now, without no serious
effort by the Ministry of External Affairs to give her a suitable assignment,
commensurate with her seniority, professional experience and record of performance.
"I have been discriminated against, both professionally and personally. I have the
strong impression that of late it is extraneous considerations rather than
professionalism which regrettably influence high-level government appointments," she
said.
Ms Sikri resented gender bias, too. "In Parliament, government has made serious
commitments to ensuring gender equality but the situation on the ground is quite
different," she added.
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