New Delhi | A BJP Lok Sabha member on Monday said the appointment of an IAS officer as "foreign secretary" by the Kerala government was "unconstitutional" and an "encroachment" on the responsibilities of the Centre.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, BJP member P P Chaudhary said the Kerala government order of July 15, appointing IAS officer K Vasuki as "foreign secretary" was a "blatant outreach".

"Is the Kerala government treating itself as a separate nation," Chaudhary said in the Lok Sabha.

The Kerala government had on July 15 issued an order giving Vasuki, Secretary in the Labour and Skills Department, the additional charge of "the matters connected with External Cooperation".

Chaudhary said external cooperation meant dealing with various nations, Indian embassies and missions abroad, functions that formed part of the Union List as per the allocation of business rules.

"As per the allocation of business rules, these functions can only be performed by the Government of India through the Ministry of External Affairs," the BJP member from Pali in Rajasthan said.

"So, the action on the part of Kerala government by issuing such an order and appointing an IAS officer as foreign secretary is unconstitutional, and it is an encroachment on the union list," Chaudhary said.