The Hindu : National : Fernandes wants Anbumani Ramadoss replaced

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Sunday, Nov 18, 2007
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Fernandes wants Anbumani Ramadoss replaced

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Expressing concern over the state of affairs at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Lok Sabha member George Fernandes has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to replace Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.

Panel sought

In the letter, Mr. Fernandes asked the Prime Minister to constitute a committee to look into the reasons “that are bothering the Health Minister” while discharging his duties, as a result of which “doctors of integrity” were being persecuted.

The letter follows a threat by close to 100 doctors at AIIMS on Friday to put in their papers if the Centre introduced the bill to amend the AIIMS and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Research (PGIMR) Acts to fix the tenure of the Director for five years or 65 years of age, whichever is earlier.

The Cabinet has already cleared the amendments and the Bill is scheduled to be passed in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

“The AIIMS is there to treat patients and not for the Health Minister to play with. For how long will you allow your Health Minister to play with the lives of the patients by persecuting the doctors of this Institute,” Mr. Fernandes asked.

The letter said that if the faculty resigned, the Health Minister had nothing to lose. The losers would only be the patients, it said.

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