S Bal Shekar to act as Lok Sabha Secretary General: Meira Kumar

NEW DELHI: S Bal Shekar, Secretary in the Lok Sabha secretariat, has been asked to perform the duties of the Lok Sabha Secretary General after T K Vishwanathan relinquished his office on August 31.

Making the announcement in the Lok Sabha today, Speaker Meira Kumar said Vishwanathan has relinquished his office on August 31. He had served in the post since October 1, 2010.

"In recognition of his services to Lok Sabha, I have great pleasure in announcing that Sri Vishwanathan has been appointed as honorary officer of the House," Kumar said.

Shekar, secretary in the Lok Sabha secretariat, will be performing the duties of secretary general for the time being, Kumar said.

She praised Vishwanathan, saying he had a thorough knowledge of parliamentary practices, procedures and constitutional matters which greatly helped the presiding officers and the panel of chairmen in conducting the proceedings of the House in a smooth and orderly manner.

"He helped in successfully organising various international parliamentary conferences, seminars and workshops by the Indian Parliament and had also been of great help to Indian parliamentary delegations attending international parliamentary conferences and on goodwill visits to foreign parliaments," the Speaker said.