In a first for the state of Kerala, a wife succeeded her husband as the Chief Secretary. Sarada Muraleedharan, a 1990-batch IAS officer, has taken over the top bureaucratic post from her husband, V Venu, who retired on August 31.
The Kerala government had confirmed Muraleedharan’s appointment on August 21. She previously served as the Additional Chief Secretary (Planning and Economic Affairs).
Both Venu and Muraleedharan are from the 1990 batch of IAS officers, with Venu being a few months older than his wife.
The historic nature of this transition was pointed out by Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who shared a clip of the official handover ceremony on social media platform X.
“For the first time in India (at least as far as anyone can remember!), Kerala’s outgoing Chief Secretary, Dr. V Venu, handed over the CS’s post to his wife, Sarada Muraleedharan, at a formal handover ceremony at the secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram,” Tharoor posted.
“Both are IAS officers of the 1990 batch but Venu is several months older than his wife, who is next in seniority in the service. A clip of the ceremony: the government was able to economise on the bouquet!” he added.
During a farewell for Venu on Friday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan observed that while Kerala has seen instances where husband-wife duos have held significant bureaucratic positions, this was the first time that a Chief Secretary has been succeeded by their spouse.
Muraleedharan, who has had a distinguished career in various departments, described the transition as an odd experience, particularly as she continues in service for another eight months after her husband’s retirement.
“Now I am a bit anxious as I have to continue in service for another eight months after his retirement,” she said. “We worked together as civil servants for 34 years, but I never gave much thought to the fact that we will not leave the service together.”
With PTI inputs
Source Agencies
