Culture minister Kumari Selja denied to get the PS she chose; proposal of appointing a 1991 batch IAS rejected

Not An Easy Pitch!

IN ONE of the rare instances, minister of culture Kumari Selja was denied to have the private secretary she wanted. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister, has rejected the proposal of ministry of culture for the appointment of Dr G Anupama Kumar, a 1991 batch Haryana cadre IAS officer currently working as director in the department of tourism as private secretary to the minister of Culture and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja. Originally hailing from Andhra Pradesh, G Anupama Kumar was a doctor by profession before she joined IAS in 1991. She was in the cadre till she joined as a director in the tourism department in November 2009. In the letter of rejection, however, no reason was mentioned.

The DoPT has published the rejection letter, dated March 4, 2011, (Read Letter) in its website and sent a copy of the letter to Prime Minister’s Office, cabinet secretariat, ministry of tourism, Haryana chief secretary among others. Significantly, in the letter, the word “rejected” was highlighted with an underline, but that’s considered to be a normal practice.

Meanwhile, the appointment of PK Kesavan, a 1986 batch Kerala cadre Indian Forest Officer, has turned lucky as he was appointed as private secretary to the minister of state for Power C Venugopal at director level with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post and for a period up to June 12, 2013.

31 women employees of Railways honoured

Thirty one outstanding women employees of Indian Railways were honoured on the occasion of Women’s Day celebrations organized by Railway Women’s Welfare Central Organization (RWWCO) in New Delhi on Tuesday. They include PT Usha who is working in Southern Railway, former captain of Indian women national cricket team Diana Edulgee of Western Railway and Neelam Katara, social worker and wife of a senior railway officer, a government release said.

In 1986, RWWCO decided to organize Women’s Day on 19th November every year to commemorate the birthday of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. But this year, the function is being held on March 8 that coincides with the International Women’s Day rather than Indira Gandhi’s Birth Day.