Reappointment

The steps being taken to validate the appointment of former TRAI chairman Nripendra Mishra as Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being opposed by other parties needlessly. In the normal course the chairman of such a regulatory body cannot take up any job after demitting office. In this particular case, the Prime Minister has chosen Mr. Mishra. Therefore, no one can object to his selection as it is his privilege. The ordinance has been promulgated only to remove the legal hurdles. Such appointments have been done in the past. Merely opposing for the sake of opposing is meaningless. Moreover, the Prime Minister heads a government and a party that is in an absolute majority.

E. Sivasanakaran,

Coimbatore

The government is beginning to take steps that do not set a good precedent. What is the guarantee that appointments like the CJI, the CEC and the CAG will not happen this way? This may well be the first step towards subverting our Constitution. The Constitution- framers made special provision for some posts so that they can work independently without any fear or greed. Mr. Mishra ought to have politely declined this post on moral grounds. It is time the bureaucracy stood up as one and refuses to get involved in political games.

Mrityunjay Kumar,

Hyderabad

It is terrible that the ordinance route is being resorted to appoint a former bureaucrat. People expect the Modi government to set healthy precedents in the best traditions of democracy, unlike as in the past. Only then can the BJP’s claim of being a party with a difference have real meaning.

P.K. Varadarajan,

Chennai