CS appointment: Govt says to not communalise posting

Hector equivalent to chief secretary: Prestone

SHILLONG: The state government has defended its decision to appoint MS Rao as the Chief Secretary and asserted that the issue of posting should not be communalised.
Responding to queries of media persons about the appointment of Rao instead of senior most official Hector Marwein, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said that the matter should be left to the government.
“How can you say appoint this fellow or that fellow and as a deputy chief minister I have to say that we should not communalise as far as posting is concerned. I am sorry to say this and the state government knows better than anybody else. Please don’t misunderstand.”
Maintaining that Marwein was not denied promotion, Tynsong said that he is equivalent to the chief secretary.
Stating that the government cannot be a fool to break and bypass the service rules, be it the state or central service rules, Tynsong added that Marwein was upgraded to the chief secretary level when the decision was made to appoint Rao as the chief secretary.
When asked if the state can have two chief secretaries, he said that the state has so many DGs including DGP, DGP (Jails) and DGP (Home Guards).
He also said that since Marwein has moved to Central Administrative Tribunal, the government would leave it to the Tribunal to decide on the matter.
Several pressure groups in the state have expressed their opposition to the appointment of Rao as the chief secretary and have warned that they will persuade the state government to change its decision and appoint Marwein instead.