Reacting to the Kerala government‘s order ‘appointing a senior IAS officer as secretary in charge of “matters concerning external cooperation”, the Kerala BJP on Saturday came out against chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan saying that he (Pinarayi Vijayan) is trying to “establish” Kerala as a “separate nation”.

Calling the appointment of an IAS officer as ‘Foreign Secretary’ in Kerala by CM Pinarayi Vijayan a blatant overreach and violation of the Constitution, BJP Kerala president K Surendran on Saturday said this unconstitutional move sets a dangerous precedent.

In a post on social media platform X, Surendran said, “The appointment of an IAS officer as ‘Foreign Secretary’ in Kerala by CM Pinarayi Vijayan is a blatant overreach and a violation of the Union list of our Constitution. The LDF government has no mandate in foreign affairs. This unconstitutional move sets a dangerous precedent. Is CM Pinarayi Vijayan trying to establish Keralam as a separate nation?”

The Kerala government has on July 15 ‘appointed’ a senior IAS officer as secretary in charge of “matters concerning external cooperation”.The order says that said secretary (labour and skills) K Vasuki “will hold the additional charge of the matters connected with external cooperation.

“The officer will coordinate and supervise all the matters in this regard and incidental thereto, in addition to the existing charges”. The order said that general administration (political) department will deal with subjects related to external cooperation and will assist Vasuki till alternate arrangements are made. The resident commissioner of Kerala House in New Delhi has been instructed to assist the officer in matters of external cooperation and to liaise with ministry of external affairs (MEA) in New Delhi and the Indian embassies and missions abroad.

It has been pointed out that states formally dealing with Indian embassies and missions by bypassing Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) is unheard of and is against established protocols.

Designating a secretary in charge of ‘external cooperation’ is not legally possible under the rules of business of the state.

As international relations are within the Centre’s domain and the state has no business in foreign matters, the move could be seriously viewed as an encroachment into subjects in the Union list of the Constitution, experts said.