New Delhi: Following the retirement of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on June 3, the appointment committee of the cabinet has started working on the agenda to find a new NSA.
Sources in the government establishment told ETV Bharat that Doval has already conveyed his unwillingness to continue the top job to caretaker Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With Doval's exit, it has become a major issue for the government as to who will assume charge as a new NSA.
Among a few names, according to the sources, former director of intelligence bureau and Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and former RAW chief Alok Joshi are doing the rounds.
On June 3, Doval completed his 10 years as NSA associated with the Narendra Modi led Centre. During the term of his office, Doval was assigned the rank of Cabinet Minister.
Role of NSA
The NSA always plays the role of a chief advisor to the Prime Minister of India on national security policy and international affairs. The NSA is tasked with regularly advising the Prime Minister on all matters relating to internal and external threats and opportunities to India. The NSA also oversees strategic and sensitive issues on behalf of the government. The NSA receives intelligence from all agencies (including RAW, IB, NTRO, MI, DIA, NIA) and presents them before the Prime Minister.
Background
All NSAs appointed since the inception of the post on November 19, 1998 belong to either the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) or to the Indian Police Service (IPS), and serve at the discretion of the Prime Minister. Brajesh Mishra, who was the Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and Principal Secretary to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was appointed as the first National Security Advisor.
After Mishra, the then foreign secretary and an IFS officer JN Dixit became the second NSA, followed by MK Narayanan and Shivshankar Menon. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed charge, Doval was appointed as NSA on May 30, 2014.
Doval as NSA
Following his appointment as NSA, Doval (a 1968 batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre) facilitated the return of 46 Indian nurses who were trapped in a hospital at Tikrit in Iraq, following the capture of Mosul by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Before assuming the charge of NSA, Doval was the director of IB. In 1988 during Operation Black Thunder, Doval infiltrated the Golden temple posing as an ISI agent and gathered information about the weapons and other documents in possession of the Khalistani separatists. The strategy later helped National Security Guards (NSG) to free Golden Temple from the hands of the Khalistani separatists.
Doval also played a crucial role by leading the four-member negotiating team to Kandahar following the hijacking of IC 814 in 1999. India’s 2016 surgical strike on Pakistan was part of Doval's defence strategy. He also played a crucial role during the 2019 Balakot airstrike.
