There was an uproar in Lok Sabha on Friday over the government's stance on the Valiathan Committee report that looked into the functioning of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the premier medical institution based in Delhi.
During question hour, Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MP Mangani Lal Mandal asked Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad whether the government was planning to implement the recommendations of the Valiathan committee, which, according to him, would lead to the privatisation of AIIMS.
Though at one point of time, the minister said, there was "no question of privatising" AIIMS, he could not provide a definite answer on the government's position on the committee report.
This led to protests by the entire opposition in the house.
Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party MP L.K. Advani said the issue should be discussed "threadbare" in the house.
The question is "whether AIIMS is heading for privatisation", Advani said.
Speaker Meira Kumar said most of the MPs were agitated and worried about the matter and suggested that a calling attention notice could be given and the issue discussed.
