KOLAR: KS Somashekar, the first-ever officer to become secretary in the Rajya Sabha secretariat from Karnataka, said it is a responsible job and he is grateful for the big opportunity. He told The New Indian Express he will not forget H Hanumanthappa who guided him to take up the secretariat examination, and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda for his support in his career.
Somashekar, from the tiny mango growing village of Neelaturu in Srinivasapura taluk of Kolar district, studied in the government school of Ronuru and got his degree from the government college in Kolar. Somashekar took up Phd at Kuvempu University, working on a comparative study of farmers’ plight, and did his MPhil and MA (Literature) and served as guest lecturer in Chintamani.
He later took up the secretarial examination and joined service, serving in various capacities including Deputy Resident Commissioner, Karnataka Bhavan, New Delhi, Joint Director (Administration), Department of Information and Technology, and also as officer on special duty (OSD) to the deputy CM of Karnataka in 2018-19.
Somashekar said though he knows English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil, his loyalty remains to his mother tongue Kannada. He said he would work hard for the satisfaction of the Rajya Sabha chairperson.
Post retirement, he wants to settle in his native village and get involved in various activities, including teaching the younger generation, just as his father, a retired government teacher did, and concentrate on agricultural activities. Somashekar’s wife is a Railway official, his daughter is studying medicine and son has taken up law, he said.