Appointment of secretaries to Rajnath Singh, other ministers put on hold by PMO

New Delhi: The Modi government has apparently decided to put on hold appointment of private secretaries to some Union ministers, including home minister Rajnath Singh. Other ministers whose moves to appoint personal secretaries of their choice have been blocked by the PMO include HRD minister Smriti Irani, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, MoS home Kiren Rijiju and MoS external affairs V.K. Singh, who is also MoS (independent charge) for the Northeast region.

While it is not yet clear, there are indications that some private secretaries who have already been appointed could face the axe. Top government sources said there were “indications” that the PMO was not willing to clear the appointment of any secretary who had worked in the UPA regime.

Read: Uttar Pradesh law scenario concerns Ministry of Home Affairs

The move has taken the ministers by surprise as there has not yet been any “official word” from the PMO.

The personnel department of the government, which comes under the PMO, is expected to issue an official communication in this regard.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh reportedly pitched for Alok Singh as his private secretary. Alok Singh, a 1995 batch IPS officer, had worked with external affairs minister Salman Khur-shid in the UPA government. On the other hand, MoS home Kiren Rijiju had opted for Abhinav Kumar, who was PS to the then MoS for MEA, Shashi Tharoor.