Sushma Swaraj was not in favour of sacking Sujatha Singh, say sources

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was not in favour of "curtailing" Sujatha Singh's tenure as the Foreign Secretary of India, say sources. The sacking of Sujatha Singh, who was to retire in July, is one of the reasons of tussle between her and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Sources also say in the last six months no recommendation of MEA has been accepted by Prime Minister's Office and no new ambassador or high commissioner has been appointed due to this. Sujatha Singh's case is the second major sacking after former Deputy NSA Nehchal Sandhu was shown the door.

Even as Sujatha Singh refused to comment on her tenure being curtailed, the Centre reportedly gave hints to her that she is no longer required.

Sources say Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given enough hints that he was unhappy with Sujatha Singh. She was not included in delegation-level talks during a very important foreign head's visit and on another occasion, she was not included in the delegation over working lunch.

Sources add the Centre expected that she would get the message and resign on her own but that did not happen even though she was offered an honourable exit. She dug in her heels saying she had six more months left.

The Modi government was then forced to take the decision as Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was due to retire on January 31 as he had turned 60 on January 9. Sources say the government wanted Jaishankar appointment before his retirement on January 31 to avoid post-retirement ordinance route for the same.

Jaishankar played a crucial role in the successful visit of USA President Barack Obama. He was also involved in the Indo-US Civil Nuclear negotiations right from 2004.

He back-channeled with White House officials to ensure the Obama visit to India and had served both in Beijing and Washington DC. He had left a good impression on Modi during his China tenure. His stints in the US, China and Singapore also make him ideal to handle the new government's focus.

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