The Hindu : Front Page : ‘AIIMS not ancestral property’

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Thursday, Sep 06, 2007
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‘AIIMS not ancestral property’

Aarti Dhar

NEW DELHI: Taking a serious note of the happenings at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), its governing body on Wednesday made it clear that the institute was not an “ancestral” property of anyone, be it the Director or the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister.

The sentiments were expressed after Director P. Venugopal openly challenged the authority of the governing body by walking out of the meeting when the members did not permit the additional list of doctors submitted by him at the last moment to attend the meeting.

“The governing body is mystified over the functioning of the institute and the system as such,” R.K. Dhawan, a member, told reporters after the meeting.

High drama

There was high drama outside Nirman Bhawan that houses the Health and Family Welfare Ministry after Dr. Venugopal left the meeting and his followers said that due respect was not shown to their “teacher” on Teacher’s Day.

Mr. Dhawan said the governing body noted with “disgust” that the Director had not been implementing the decisions of the earlier meetings, and felt that the violation was highly irregular, amounting to “insubordination, indiscipline and disobedience” and not expected of a public servant, particularly a person holding such a high office.

Blaming the Director for the delay in awarding degrees to students, Mr. Dayal said Minister Anbumani Ramadoss was willing to sign the degrees even before the court orders and returned these to AIIMS just for rectification as the Registrar, who signed these degrees, was not appointed by the governing body.

Had the convocation been held on time last year and this year, things would not have gone to court, he said.

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