Kerala Appoints K Vasuki IAS As Secretary In-Charge Of 'External Cooperation': Explained

In an unusual move, the Kerala government appointed senior IAS officer K Vasuki as Secretary in charge of “matters concerning external cooperation,” despite foreign affairs being under the Union government’s jurisdiction. The decision, announced on July 15, tasks Vasuki with coordinating and supervising external cooperation matters, raising concerns about constitutional overreach and established diplomatic protocols. The move has created controversy with the state BJP criticising it as “a blatant overreach and a violation of the Union list of our Constitution.”

Kerala Appoints K Vasuki IAS As Secretary In-Charge Of ‘External Cooperation’: 10 Important Points

1. The Kerala government appointed K Vasuki, Secretary (Labour and Skills), to oversee external cooperation, despite foreign relations being a central government domain.
2. Vasuki is to coordinate and supervise all external cooperation matters, in addition to her existing duties, with assistance from the General Administration (Political) Department.
3. Kerala House’s Resident Commissioner in New Delhi will assist Vasuki in liaising with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Indian embassies abroad.
4. This appointment marks an unusual deviation from established protocols, where states traditionally do not engage directly with Indian embassies or the MEA.
5. Generally, matters involving Keralites abroad are handled informally by the Secretary in charge of Norka or an officer of the Chief Minister’s rank, not a designated foreign cooperation secretary.
6. The appointment raises legal questions since state governments typically do not have a mandate for foreign relations under the rules of business.
7. Former cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar questioned the need for the role, noting that international relations are the Centre’s responsibility.
8. In 2021, the LDF government appointed former IFS officer Venu Rajamony as Officer on Special Duty in New Delhi to liaise with the MEA, a move seen as leveraging diplomatic contacts for political benefits.
9. The BJP criticized the appointment as a constitutional violation and an overreach of the state government’s mandate in foreign affairs. “The LDF government has no mandate in foreign affairs. This unconstitutional move sets a dangerous precedent. Is Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan trying to establish Keralam as a separate nation?,” asked BJP’s K Surendran.
10. Shashi Tharoor, a career diplomat, former Union Minister and MP from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, emphasised that while states can work with embassies on resident matters, the explicit designation of an official for external cooperation is unprecedented and should be aligned with central government policies. “The fact is that foreign relations are controlled by the Union government and no state government has any independent foreign relations but it is entirely appropriate for state governments to work without Embassies abroad for matter involving their residents… Now to give a specific responsibility of this nature to one official is fairly unusual. But it is very clearly understood that she has no foreign relationship responsibility of her own but it would be basically through Indian government’s bodies,” he said.