NEW DELHI: Months of hectic lobbying fed by lack of a decision are finally coming to an end with next week’s expected appointment of a new Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. The last Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Nalin Surie, retired on July 31, and the post has been vacant since then.
The acting high commissioner is his deputy, Rajesh N Prasad, an IFS officer of 1980 batch.
“With the post being prestigious, there were a lot of people vying for it… But with the 2G crisis, the government was too busy firefighting. There were other priorities, and the final nod on a name has to come from 10 Janpath,” said a government official. Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s departure for the United States in August for five weeks of medical treatment only added to the disarray. Sources now say that a decision has been reached on the appointment of the next Indian envoy, who will be a career diplomat.