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Mon, May 7 I had no role in students' quota stir: Venugopal By IE Monday May 7, 01:13 AM All India Institute of Medical Sciences director Dr P Venugopal has reacted sharply to the UGC report submitted to Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, accusing him of playing a "pro-active role in last year's anti-quota agitation". Speaking out on the controversy for the first time, Venugopal told Newsline: "I completely deny that AIIMS administration or I was in any way involved in permitting the agitation. The AIIMS administration took all appropriate measures as per the administrative law, to prevent and control the agitation. All the actions were taken in strict conformity with the instructions received from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. And the ministry was informed on a day-to-day basis." The UGC report had also accused the director of being biased against SC/ST students, saying the latter felt they had got less marks than expected. Commenting on it, Venugopal said: "In any case, the undergraduate classes do not fall within my purview, so the question of discrimination against these students does not arise." The Health Ministry had asked UGC to prepare a report following students' complaints that those from reserved category were discriminated against. According to the ministry, the report will be discussed in the institute's general body meeting on Monday. The AIIMS faculty association, meanwhile, has written to the Prime Minister seeking his intervention in various issues concerning the institute. The three-page letter states: "In the several governing bodies held last year, not a single agenda item has been discussed with the welfare of faculty in mind. Only personal issues have been discussed. Also, all the meetings are being held in Nirman Bhawan for some unknown reason." On the Valiathan Committee report, the letter says: "The committee was formed by the PM to review the functioning of AIIMS and make recommendations to improve its working. The report was submitted to the Health Ministry and the PMO in October 2006. Is it not important to discuss recommendations of the panel as a priority? Why is the report gathering dust in the ministry?" The association members have raised doubts on the intentions of the Health Ministry, which, they say, is systematically trying to defame AIIMS. "We demand that the Valiathan Co-mmittee report should be made public immediately, and, instead of wasting time and public money in fruitless attempts to remove the Director, the institute body should meet to decide how to implement this report, to further improve AIIMS functioning," the letter says. The faculty complained that the Ministry of Health has not taken a single decision for the benefit of AIIMS and its doctors in the past one year. "In fact, a single, arbitrary and capricious letter from the Minister has caused serious job uncertainty amongst more than 100 senior professors," they have said in the letter.
