PM rejects Gajapathi Raju’s recommendation of India's representative at International Civil Aviation Organisation

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has overruled civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju’s recommendation on the prestigious appointment of the Representative of India on the council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation based in Montreal, Canada.

Documents accessed by Deccan Chronicle show that Mr Raju had proposed the name of Telangana state-cadre 1991 batch IAS officer G. Asok Kumar — who was a joint secretary in the ministry — for the posting but the appointments committee of the Cabinet, headed by Mr Modi, opted to appoint Mr Alok Shekhar, an IAS officer of the 1994 batch (three batches junior to Mr Kumar) to the post.

In fact, Mr Kumar’s candidature had been cleared both by the civil aviation ministry and the foreign service board of the MEA but he still lost the race due to the ACC decision.