Tharakan

New Delhi, Feb. 2: The succession row in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is out in the open. Ambar Sen, the No. 2, has gone on leave to protest the appointment of Ashok Chaturvedi as chief of the external intelligence agency.

Chaturvedi took over from P.K. Hormis Tharakan on January 31. Sources said Sen has gone on long leave and is unlikely to return.

Resentment had been brewing over Chaturvedi’s appointment for some time. Chaturvedi and Sen are batchmates and had both been in the running for the post.

But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cleared Chaturvedi’s appointment two weeks ago, though an announcement was held back as the government wanted the row settled first.

It was widely believed in the security establishment that Chaturvedi’s proximity to cabinet secretary B.K. Chaturvedi had tilted the balance in his favour. The two senior officers are related to each other.

Sen, a 1970-batch IPS officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre, had earlier superseded Chaturvedi when Tharakan was brought from Kerala to head the RAW. Sen became No. 2 despite protests from Chaturvedi.

The sources said the row between the two has already divided the agency into two camps. Officers close to Sen are either seeking postings outside the agency or fearing transfers.

Even before Chaturvedi’s appointment, the bickering had given rise to the view that the government should pick someone from outside to head the outfit. But Singh opted for Chaturvedi.

This is the second time that Singh’s decision on a key post has caused an uproar. Shiv Shankar Menon’s appointment as foreign secretary last year, superseding several officers, had created a flutter in South Block and sparked several transfers and resignations.

The next post that will be filled up is of deputy national security adviser. The buzz is national security adviser M.K. Narayanan is keen on having his confidant Tharakan as his deputy. But no decision has yet been taken.

Former diplomats Dilip Lahiri and Leela Ponappa are also in the race for the post, which has been vacant since Vijay Nambiar moved to the UN. Nambiar is now part of the new team of UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon.