BJP MP Criticizes Kerala's IAS Officer Appointment

A BJP Lok Sabha member, P P Chaudhary, criticized the Kerala government's appointment of IAS officer K Vasuki as 'foreign secretary,' calling it 'unconstitutional' and an encroachment on the Centre's responsibilities. This appointment involves external cooperation, traditionally under the Union List, handled by the Ministry of External Affairs.

A BJP Lok Sabha member on Monday condemned the Kerala government's appointment of an IAS officer as 'foreign secretary,' calling the move 'unconstitutional' and an 'encroachment' on the Centre's responsibilities.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, BJP member P P Chaudhary argued that the Kerala government's July 15 order appointing IAS officer K Vasuki as 'foreign secretary' was a 'blatant outreach.'

''Is the Kerala government treating itself as a separate nation,'' Chaudhary questioned in the Lok Sabha. The order, he noted, gave Vasuki, Secretary in the Labour and Skills Department, additional charge of 'matters connected with External Cooperation.'

Chaudhary stated that external cooperation involves dealings with various nations, Indian embassies, and missions abroad, which according to the allocation of business rules, fall under the Union List.

''As per the allocation of business rules, these functions can only be performed by the Government of India through the Ministry of External Affairs,'' emphasized Chaudhary, the BJP member from Pali in Rajasthan.

''Therefore, the Kerala government’s action of appointing an IAS officer as foreign secretary is unconstitutional and an encroachment on the union list,'' Chaudhary concluded.