Aizawl, May 31 (IANS): A Mizo IAS officer must be appointed Mizoram's Chief Secretary, otherwise it will launch a stir, the NGO Coordination Committee (NGOCC), an apex body of major civil society organisations and student bodies headed by the Central Young Mizo Association said.
The NGOCC, which earlier announced to launch demonstrations from Tuesday to prevent Chief Secretary Renu Sharma from attending her office, postponed the stir for the day as she is out of station.
An official of the Chief Secretary's office told IANS that Sharma is now on leave and she will return back to Aizawl on Thursday.
CYMA General Secretary Prof. Lalnuntluanga on Tuesday told IANS that the day's picketing was postponed and the NGOCC would decide when the demonstration would be launched.
CYMA President R. Lalngheta on Monday said that the NGOCC had earlier appealed to the Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Governor Dr Haribabu Kambhampati, and the Union Home Ministry several times to appoint a Mizo IAS officer, but the appeal went on vain.
"A Mizo IAS officer would not have a language barrier to ensure administrative efficiency. There are eligible persons among the Mizos to hold the top administrative post," he told the media.
Lalngheta said that there are always language problems if a non-Mizo IAS officer holds the post of Chief Secretary.
The Union Government on October 28 last year appointed Sharma, an Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre IAS officer of the 1988 batch, as the Chief Secretary of Mizoram and she joined the post on November 1 last year.
Just before her joining, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga had requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to replace her (Sharma), as she is not familiar with the Mizo language and Mizo people generally do not understand Hindi.
The Chief Minister in his letter to Shah proposed to appoint Additional Chief Secretary J.C Ramthanga (a Manipur cadre IAS officer) as the next Chief Secretary.
Sharma, who is also looking after the Home, Political and Cabinet, Vigilance departments in the Mizoram government, was earlier posted as the Additional Chief Secretary, Transport, in Delhi.
The Chief Minister in his letter had pointed out that none of the cabinet ministers understand Hindi and some even have problems understanding English. A top official without the working knowledge of Mizo language would never be an effective and efficient Chief Secretary, he had said.