It was a homecoming for Dr P. Venugopal, and he couldn’t have hoped for a better one. Not only did the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) erupt in spontaneous celebration at the return of the cardiac surgeon as its director, but his detractors too kept a low profile, refusing to comment on the development.Venugopal’s return was facilitated after the Supreme Court recently struck down the AIIMS Amendment Act 2007, supposedly passed to ease the 66-year-old surgeon out of the institute after a bitter row with Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.While Venugopal has been reticent in his reaction to the court verdict— “The (court) decision has thwarted the game plan carried out in Parliament”—the resident doctors and faculty members have been more vocal. “This is a victory for truth. Ramadoss is responsible for the entire fiasco and he should resign,” said Kaushal Kant Mishra, spokesperson for the Resident Doctors Association (RDA).Last year, Ramadoss and Venugopal engaged in a public spat on a variety of issues, including the OBC quota stir. While Venugopal was accused of aiding the stir, the RDA lent its support to the director. The anti-quota protests had reduced in intensity after the recent Supreme Court verdict allowing 27 per cent reservations for OBCs in higher educational institutions, but the May 8 verdict to reinstall Venugopal had the medical fraternity cutting across caste lines to back him. For those who have sustained a muted support to quotas say that notwithstanding Venugopal’s return, the SC nod will work in their favour. “Whether the RDA and Dr Venugopal like it or not, the OBC quotas will see the light of the day. This is all we wanted,” said an MBBS student from the SC community.Soon after taking charge, Venugopal’s first administrative decision is a sign of things to come. The institute postponed indefinitely the interviews for senior resident doctors scheduled for May 10-12. Earlier, the resident doctors at the institute had filed a contempt petition in the Delhi High Court, alleging that despite the court’s earlier order to maintain status quo in selection of senior resident doctors till further orders, the institute was making a “willful and deliberate attempt to muddle with the rules”.Many at the institute are also hoping that the conflict over the appointment of Senior Financial Adviser at the institute will be resolved. Rashmi Jain was appointed as SFA during Venugopal’s tenure, but in a communication issued by the Health Ministry in March, Jain was repatriated to her parent IRS cadre. While the move was seen as the ministry’s bid to wrest control of the AIIMS finances, the Central Administrative Tribunal stayed the ministry’s order. Still, Jain was not allowed to take charge. With Venugopal’s return, she may now be back. Meanwhile, Dr T.D. Dogra, appointed by Ramadoss to serve as acting AIIMS director while Venugopal was away, shot off a complaint to the director alleging “misbehaviour” at his office by some faculty members, and saying that the director “did nothing” while he was being harassed. While he has sought leave till July 2 (when Venugopal’s term at AIIMS ends), the institute may play see yet another battle in the form of RDA’s opposition to quotas at PG level. While the health minister wants to implement it this year, the resident doctors have been opposing it. Clearly, AIIMS is in for tough times.
