Ajit Seth is next cab sec: PMO's hasty announcement

No further extension for Chandrasekhar

GN Bureau | May 24, 2011



Ajit Kumar Seth, an IAS officer of 1974 batch of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed union cabinet secretary. This announcement was made hurriedly to avoid embarrassment to the government with the speculation of the uncumbent, KM Chandrasekhar, was set to get fourth extension.

Prime minister Manmohan Singh is in currently in Ethiopia and the PMO made the annoucement of this appointment, as New Delhi bureaucratic circles on Tuesday speculated Chandrasekhar was getting yet another extension.

Now they were asking if PMO should have made the announcement when Singh was still in New Delhi. On Tuesday there was a talk of a delegation of few secretaries to meet the principal secretary to PM, TKA Nair, to protest against any extension to Chandrasekhar. Since the issue was to be
too volatile the PMO decided to announce the name of AK Seth as cabinet secretary.

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