PMO wanted me to delete Modi’s reference in my letter: Sujatha Singh

Former foreign secretary Sujatha Singh had offered to retire early but it was rejected as the Prime Minister’s Office wanted her to delete a reference that she was doing so on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh who was removed from her post on Friday told in an interview to Karan Thapar on Headlines Today.

Former foreign secretary Sujatha Singh had offered to retire early but it was rejected as the Prime Minister’s Office wanted her to delete a reference that she was doing so on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh who was removed from her post on Friday told in an interview to Karan Thapar on Headlines Today.

External-affairs-minister-Sushma-Swaraj-with-Sujatha-Singh-and-foreign-secretary-S-Jaishankar-in-New-Delhi-PTI-File-Photo

Singh said Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had informed her on January 28 afternoon that the PM wanted to appoint S Jaishankar as the foreign secretary. She said she had sent a letter on that evening seeking early retirement “as instructed by the Prime Minister.” But she got a call from the Prime Minister's Office "asking me if I would consider deleting it (the words)...”

The former FS said she made it clear that “I would not” delete reference to the Prime Minister. “It was on the instructions of the Prime Minister and as a good civil servant, we follow instructions,” Singh told Headlines Today on Saturday.

Singh also claimed that someone within the government was planting stories against her in the media and maintained that she does not believe in leaking privileged information to journalists.

Asked if she was pained by the removal, Singh said that for her the “chapter was over” and she was looking at the future. Singh told Thapar that she would concentrate on gardening and weaving, indicating that she was not looking for another opening.