Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga has written to Union home minister Amit Shah requesting him to replace the state’s new chief secretary, Renu Sharma, as she does not know Mizo and his ministers do not understand Hindi. The letter was written on October 29 but its details emerged on Monday.
Sharma, an Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the 1988 batch, took charge on November 2. People familiar with the matter said Zoramthanga was unhappy with the Centre’s choice for the post. They added he wanted additional chief secretary JC Ramthanga, a Manipur cadre IAS officer from the 1989 batch, to be named as the chief secretary. Ramthanga’s name was forwarded to the Centre government, the cadre controlling authority for the IAS officers.
The people said Zoramthanga was expecting the Centre to agree to his demand. When it did not happen, he wrote the letter.
The Centre appointed Sharma, who was earlier in charge of the Chandni Chowk Redevelopment Project in Delhi, on October 28.
In his letter, Zoramthanga said the Mizo people by and large do not understand Hindi, and none of his Cabinet ministers understands the language. “Some of them even have problem with the English language,” said the letter, a copy of which HT has seen. “With such background, a chief secretary without the knowledge of a working standard Mizo language will never be an effective and efficient chief secretary.”
Zoramthanga said the Centre has never appointed a chief secretary who did not have a working knowledge of the Mizo language. He added in other states, a person who does not have knowledge of a state’s basic language is never appointed to the post of chief secretary.
Zoramthanga wrote his Mizo National Front has been a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) from the beginning while parties in other states have changed alliances. “I am the only one in the whole of northeast states who have been a faithful partner of NDA from the beginning… I, therefore, believe that I deserve a special favour and consideration for the faithful friendship with NDA.”
Zoramthanga said if his proposal of having a chief secretary with working knowledge of Mizo is denied, the Congress and other opposition parties will “make a mockery” of him for faithfully serving the NDA. He “earnestly requested” Shah to modify the earlier order of naming Sharma and accept his proposal to hand over the post to Ramthanga.
