NEW DELHI: A day after All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director P. Venugopal threatened to resign over "interference" by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, a group of senior faculty members wrote to the Prime Minister demanding an immediate inquiry into the functioning of the Institute. The group also requested Dr. Ramadoss to act in the overall interest of the Institute without fear or favour.

The letter, signed by 14 faculty members, including Ravi Saksena, C.S. Yadav and the newly appointed Sub-Dean Sunil Chumber, said: "Instead of being a responsible and responsive head of the family, the Director has been promoting factionalism, groupism and caste divide. He has promoted a coterie by giving them undue benefits and ignored a vast section of the faculty and the staff who have been pleading for a just and fair administration and a congenial breathing space to work peacefully."

Dr. Chumber told The Hindu on Friday: "We have previously made a request to meet the Prime Minister to inform him of the bad phase that the Institute was passing through and to inform him of the steady deterioration. The Director's autocratic functioning, total absence of transparency and non-accountability in administration and callous neglect of common patients have contributed to the sorry state of affairs at AIIMS."

The letter said: "A group of faculty that has alleged that AIIMS' autonomy is being interfered with by the Ministry is the very group that is in collusion with the local administration, [and] in violation of the Central Civil Services conduct rules, pampered the agitating medicos on the reservation issue."

Dr. R.C. Deka, Dean, has cancelled his scheduled summer vacation from June 24. "I have no intention of resigning as demanded by the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) and have also cancelled my summer vacation," he said.

Dr. Deka, who was appointed Dean on May 4 by the Health Ministry, said he was unable to attend office on Thursday as the doctors gheraoed his residence.

He had no intention of resigning as his appointment had been made by the Ministry and, in fact, he should have been the acting director.

Dr. Venugopal had appointed Dr. T.D. Dogra, Head of Forensic Department, acting director.

The Faculty Association at AIIMS has decided to adopt a wait-and-watch policy, "not taking sides until Dr. Venugopal returns from leave later next week," said a senior faculty member.

BJP seeks Manmohan Singh's intervention

The BJP demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervene in the `standoff' between Dr. Ramadoss and Dr. Venugopal.

Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said first it was the "common man" who was the `casualty' of the UPA policies, and now eminent people such as Dr. Venugopal were also being `humiliated.'

Mr. Prasad said that normally the Cabinet in any government was expected to reflect "collective" thinking. But the UPA Ministers were functioning like autonomous chiefs who could do what they pleased in their own arena.

A prestigious institution would become a casualty if this public squabbling was not stopped, he cautioned the Prime Minister.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail