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S Jaishankar's appointment: It was 'now or never' decision for government

Prime minister Narendra Modi's association with Jaishankar goes back to November, 2011, when as Gujarat chief minister he had visited China leading a delegation of of business leaders from the state. Jaishankar was then Indian ambassador to China.

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External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj with the newly-appointed foreign secretary S Jaishankar as he takes charge at the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi on Thursday
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Two days before he was to retire from foreign service, India's ambassador to US S Jaishankar was appointed foreign secretary, in what was a "now or never" decision to reward him for his "exemplary professional record."Once he retired on January 31, he could not have been made foreign secretary as per the service rules. In the ministries of external affairs, defence, home and finance, when a retiring bureaucrat is made secretary, he or she automatically gets a two year extension.

It was neither an overnight decision to appoint Jaishankar as foreign secretary nor done without the knowledge of his predecessor Sujatha Singh, government sources said. The buzz that the government was contemplating the change was there since a month. The government had offered Singh an alternative post, which she is understood to have declined, forcing it to take the harsh step of sacking her.

Prime minister Narendra Modi's association with Jaishankar goes back to November, 2011, when as Gujarat chief minister he had visited China leading a delegation of of business leaders from the state. Jaishankar was then Indian ambassador to China.

Son of India's strategic czar K Subramanyam, Jaishankar played a key role during Modi's visit to the US in September and US president Barack Obama's just concluded visit to India. On November 13 when Obama met Modi in South Korea and expressed wish to visit Taj Mahal, it was left to Jaishankar to convince him to accept invitation to attend the Republic Day celebrations.

"My priorities are the government's priorities. So, I think at this time let's leave it at that.... This is a big responsibility. I would say that I am very honoured that I have been assigned this responsibility," said Jaishankar, a 1977-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, when asked about his sudden appointment.

Sujata Singh making her anger known, was not present when Jaishankar took charge at the South Block office. In a letter dated January 28, Singh said she has sought early retirement from government service.

Late on Wednesday night, a statement from the department of personnel and training said Singh's tenure as foreign secretary was "curtailed with immediate effect."

A day later, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj's decision to cancel her two rallies in Delhi sparked off speculation that she was upset over the development. However, an official statement later in the day clarified that Swaraj was in the loop on the decision to appoint Jaishankar as foreign secretary. Government sources said all cabinet ministers were informed of the decision in advance.

Jaishankar, who can speak Russian and Mandarin, brings to the table his knowledge of the US, Russia and China. He was the third in the line of diplomats instrumental in negotiating the nuclear deal, after Shyam Saran and Shiv Shankar Menon, both of whom were also promoted to the position of foreign secretaries.

"He is an outstanding officer. He brings to an experience which will help him in his challenging job of dealing with countries like Russia, China, America. He gets things done," said former foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh.
Soon after he was posted to the US in September, 2013, he had to deal with the strip search of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragde, the biggest crisis between India and the US.

He was a favourite of then prime minister Manmohan Singh for the foreign secretary post. But he hit road block from Congress party. An influential group of Congress leaders, wanted the PM as well
as the Congress president Sonia Gandhi to reconsider the choice, citing Wikileaks disclosures, showing Jaishankar's pro-American slant.

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