SHILLONG: Reiterating their opposition to the appointment of MS Rao as the chief secretary, pressure groups in the state have warned that they will persuade the state government to change its decision and appoint Hector Marwein as the chief secretary.
It may be mentioned that Rao superseded Marwein as the chief secretary of the state. This has irked Marwein who has petitioned the Chief Minister Conrad Sangma. Rao is a 1987 batch IAS officer while Marwein belongs to the 1985 batch of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
The four organisations comprising of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), Federation of Khasi Jaintia Garo People (FKJGP), Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) and Ri-Bhoi Youth Federation (RBYF) asserted that the action of the state government will dishearten many government employees.
“We feel that the state government should have given preference to a local considering Marwein’s seniority. The action of the state government shows that it does not have any regard for the services rendered by the people”, a joint statement sent by the organisations stated.
Despite opposition from several quarters to his appointment, Rao assumed office of the chief secretary on Tuesday (December 31) afternoon.
The outgoing chief secretary, PS Thangkhiew handed over the charge to Rao. Rao was appointed on December 23, the last working day of the year, to assume office on December 31, the day Thangkhiew retires.
