SWALLOW WITH A PINCH OF SALT

The appointment of 10 joint secretaries from the private sector is too small a number to bring any concrete change in the government’s policy-making or governance. One must question the intent of the government which has already made appointments to all key positions in the last four years. The opposition’s apprehensions that it is a ploy to pack important institutions and departments with people who can push forth its interests rings true. This theory is supported by union minister Satyapal Singh’s statement that the government wants to extend the lateral entry scheme to government-run-educational institutions. The paucity of IAS and IPS officers is a mere excuse as the UPSC regularly makes appointments following a transparent procedure. HL Sharma, Amritsar