File Photo: Former TRAI Chairman Nripendra Misra
New Delhi:
The Congress is prepping to take on the new government for its move to change the law to enable Prime Minister Narendra Modi to have former telecom regulator Nripendra Misra as his principle secretary.
The rules ban Mr Misra, a former chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority or TRAI, from taking any post in the central government.
But two days after the new government took charge in May, it passed an ordinance, or executive order, amending the TRAI Act so that Mr Misra could join Mr Modi's office.
The ordinance has to be ratified by both houses of Parliament in this session, as it will lapse after six months.
The Congress has said it will strongly oppose the ordinance in Parliament. "We don't oppose Mr Misra, but we oppose this in principle. An ordinance was issued just to appoint one person," a Congress leader said.
Mr Misra had already taken charge as Principal Secretary before Mr Modi was sworn in on May 26.
The Prime Minister reportedly hand-picked the 1967-batch IAS officer, who has held several important positions in the government. He was secretary in the ministries of telecom and commerce.
The 69-year-old was also Principal Secretary to Kalyan Singh when he was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in the early 1990s.
The rules ban Mr Misra, a former chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority or TRAI, from taking any post in the central government.
But two days after the new government took charge in May, it passed an ordinance, or executive order, amending the TRAI Act so that Mr Misra could join Mr Modi's office.
The ordinance has to be ratified by both houses of Parliament in this session, as it will lapse after six months.
The Congress has said it will strongly oppose the ordinance in Parliament. "We don't oppose Mr Misra, but we oppose this in principle. An ordinance was issued just to appoint one person," a Congress leader said.
Mr Misra had already taken charge as Principal Secretary before Mr Modi was sworn in on May 26.
The Prime Minister reportedly hand-picked the 1967-batch IAS officer, who has held several important positions in the government. He was secretary in the ministries of telecom and commerce.
The 69-year-old was also Principal Secretary to Kalyan Singh when he was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in the early 1990s.
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