In a country like India, it is very common for married couples to hold high and powerful administrative positions within the state or central government. But something uncommon and unique took place in Kerala when the husband handed over his duty of Chief Secretary to his wife.
On August 31, outgoing Chief Secretary Dr. V. Venu officially handed over his position to his wife, Sarada Muraleedharan. This handover is being seen as a remarkable and unprecedented event. The appointment of Sarada Muralitharan was approved by the Kerala Cabinet, which was headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Wife Suceeds Husband: First Instance in Kerala
For the first time in Kerala's history, a husband and wife have succeeded each other in the same role. On August 31, Dr. V. Venu stepped down as Chief Secretary, passing the position to his wife, Sharda Muralitharan.
A 1990 batch IAS officer, Sarada Muraleedharan previously served as the Additional Chief Secretary of Planning and Economic Affairs.
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Husband and Wife: Same Batch, Successive Roles
The Kerala government confirmed Sarada Muraleedharan's appointment as Chief Secretary on August 21, marking a historic moment as she succeeded her husband, V. Venu. Both Venu and Sharda are IAS officers from the 1990 batch, though Venu is a few months senior to his wife.
Highlighting this unique transfer of duties, Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor shared a video of the ceremony on social media platform X. He captioned the video saying, “For the first time in India (at least as far as anyone can remember!), Kerala’s outgoing ChiefSecretary, Dr V, Venu, handed over the CS’s post to his wife, Sarada Murleedharan, at a formal handover ceremony at the secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram.”
He further mentioned that the couple are from the same 1990 batch of IAS officers. However, the husband Venu is several months older than his wife. The wife was next in seniority in the service.
8 Months of Sevice Left
Sarada Muraleedharan described the transition as a strange experience, especially considering the case that she had to remain in service for another eight months after her husband's retirement. According to her, the couple jointly served the state administration for a period of 34 years. It had never crossed her mind that they would not be retiring at the same time. Now that such a situation has arisen, it feels a bit surreal for her.
This is not the first time that the wife and the husband have served the government in top positions, but this case in Kerala, where the wife succeeded her husband as Chief Secretary, is likely the first of its kind.
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