New Delhi
10 September 2006
Shiv Shankar Menon's elevation to the post of Foreign Secretary
superseding as many as 16 officers was reported to have claimed the first casualty in
the form of resignation of the Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs.
A media report suggested that Mr Rajiv Sikri, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of
the 1970 batch, put in his papers. However, when contacted at his residence on Sunday
evening, Mr Sikri said, ""Please do not disturb me [or] indulge in speculation. Please
[ask this question to] the Joint Secretary (XP)." The latter was not available for comment.
The appointment of Shiv Shankar Menon from the 1972 batch of IFS has caused heart
burn among certain senior diplomats. A restructuring of the Ministry of External Affairs is
expected after Menon takes over on October 1.
Among the IFS officers Menon superseded are Secretary (West) Shashi U Tripathi,
Secretary (East) Rajiv Sikri and and Secretary (Economic Relations) Rinzing Wangdi
from the 1970 batch of IFS. Others senior to Menon are TCA Rangachari, Atish Sinha, PS
Haer and Arun Kumar besides five other officers from the 1971 batch -- Veena Sikri, SS
Mukherjee, Navrekha Sharma, Amitabh Tripathi and Parthasarathy Ray.
Foreign Secretary-designate Shiv Shankar Menon will join him in Havana in time for
Prime Minister Singh's meeting with Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf on
the sidelines of the 14th NAM Summit. Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran is not travelling
with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Brazil or Cuba.
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