There’s more on the earthquake in the External Affairs Ministry. Modi reportedly offered Singh the option of moving on as ambassador to a prominent international capital, or perhaps even a governorship. But she refused and sought retirement. That left the government in a dilemma: Jaishankar had to be appointed before Jan 31, the date when he would retire. It left the government with no option but to “curtail” Singh’s tenure (she was due to retire in August). There was the possibility of appointing Jaishankar foreign policy advisor (this would have allowed Singh to continue till her date of superannuation). But a foreign policy advisor also means encroaching on the turf of Modi’s trusted NSA Ajit Doval. So that was shot down, and so was Sujata Singh.