The internal war over appointment of secretary general of the Lok Sabha secretariat has intensified, causing an embarrassment to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kamal Nath.
The term of the present Secretary General T K Viswanathan is coming to an end next month. Kumar and leader of the opposition Sushma Swaraj do not want the continuance of Viswanathan. On the other hand, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, also the leader of Lok Sabha, Kamal Nath, and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani want Viswanathan to retain his post.
According to sources, Kumar’s 180-strong secretariat is rife with intense politicking over the appointment. officials in the secretariat who have risen through the ranks do not want ‘outsiders’ -- from the Indian Administrative Service or other services -- to be appointed as the secretary general. This position has the status of a Cabinet secretary. It seems like many officials of the secretariat want to be elevated to the high post of the secretary general without being joint or additional secretary
Sources say that officials are split into three groups; each group lodging complaints and protests against the other two.
Insiders are circulating unsigned pamphlets for and against aspirants, and derogatory print-outs with unprintable comments are being posted in the lifts and washrooms of the prestigious Parliament building. It seems that the politics among the officials of the Lok Sabha has reached its lowest ebb.
Kumar may have to take an early decision on this subject next month. “But the image of the Lok Sabha secretariat would suffer if this (politicking) continues,” said a former secretary general of the Lok Sabha.
