Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appoint a state chief secretary who has a working knowledge of the Mizo language, PTI reported.
Zoramthanga had raised the same demand on October 29 in a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The chief minister had objected to the appointment of Renu Sharma as the new chief secretary of the state, saying that she does not know the local language.
Zoramthanga, who was in New Delhi on Tuesday, met Modi during his visit. The prime minister assured him that he will take up the matter with local political leaders and officials, a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said.
Renu Sharma, an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1988 batch, was appointed by the Centre on October 28 to take charge as the chief secretary of Mizoram from November 1. But, on the same day, the Mizoram government directed JC Ramthanga to take charge as chief secretary from November 1.
Sharma took charge of the post on November 2.
Zoramthanga, in his letter to Amit Shah in October, had said that several ministers in his Cabinet do not understand Hindi, and that some even face difficulty in understanding English.
“With such background, a chief secretary without the knowledge of a working standard Mizo language will never be an effective and efficient chief secretary,” the chief minister said in his letter. “Due to this fact, the government of India never posted a chief secretary who does not know the working standard of Mizo language since the creation of the state of Mizoram.”
The Mizoram chief minister on Tuesday also urged Modi to extend assistance to the citizens of Myanmar who had fled the country after the military coup there in February, East Mojo reported.
He also demanded a separate cadre of Indian Administrative Service and other all-India service officers.
During the meeting, Zoramthanga asked the prime minister to provide housing assistance to former members of the Mizo National Front who gave up their weapons after the Mizo Peace Accord of 1986.
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