PM Narendra Modi turns down Upendra Kushwaha's request for private secretary of his choice

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned down union minister Upendra Kushwaha's choice of an IAS officer for appointment as his private secretary.

Minister of State Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Sanitation, Kushwaha, leader of Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, had recommended the name of Ravinder Kumar as his private secretary to the Appointment Committee of Cabinet.

However, "the Prime Minister has not approved the proposal of the Department of Rural Development for appointment of Ravinder Kumar as Private Secretary" to Kushwaha, said an official order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.

The Prime Minister had earlier put on hold the appointment of private secretaries of Home Minister Rajnath Singh and some other union ministers.

Kumar, a resident of Bihar, is a 2011 batch IAS officer of Sikkim cadre.

He was the first IAS officer to scale Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world. He was chosen as one of the members of Sikkim-sponsored Mt Everest expedition but was dropped following a controversy over his selection.

Kumar later went on to scale the peak on his own and accomplished the feat in May last year.