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Joining the growing list of countries enforcing total bans on smoking in enclosed spaces, the Indian government also announced a nationwide ban on smoking in public and private buildings in India from October 2 this year. The announcement was made on Friday, the World Population Day.

“From October 2 this year, nobody in India can smoke in buildings, both public and private. Anybody who wants to smoke can do so on the road,” Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said addressing a function in Patna.

Ramadoss said that if the urge for a quick puff proves too strong, then the smokers have to go out in the open space for that. Last year, the ban was restricted in workplaces, restaurants and hotels, includes theatres, pubs, bars, malls and any other enclosed spaces.

“Smokers can have a puff at the risk of their health in private, in their bedrooms, provided they have the permission of their wives,” Ramadoss said.

Countries like Japan and some parts of Australia (Queensland) and Ireland have a partial ban on smoking outdoors, especially near schools and hospitals. India is among 67 countries in the world to have imposed total or partial bans on smoking in public due to the harmful effects of tobacco smoke on the health and environment, but the inclusion of private buildings within its purview is a rarity.

Tags: Ban, India, Patna, Ramadoss, Smoke, Smoking

Noted filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has told the comments by Union Health Minister Ramadoss as ‘juvenile’ that asks film stars to refrain from smoking and drinking in films.

Bhatt has followed superstar Amitabh Bachchan, in criticicing the minister for his comments and joined the protests by various Bollywood bigwigs against Ramadoss.

“I find his comments juvenile. People do not even have basic health facilities in villages, rural health sector is in such a mess but his concern is limited to film industry,” Bhatt says.

Recently Bachchan also sharply criticized Ramadoss suggestions that when popular film stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan are seen smoking and drinking on screen it encourages youngsters to follow suit.

Many times earlier, Ramadoss commented on smoking scenes in movies and subjected to anger by film fraternity for the same.

“How can they talk of censoring people in 21st century? All you can do is to sensitize people about these things, but censor is impossible,” said Bhatt.

Bhatt is an outspoken critic of such bans in Hindi films. Known for his strong stand against censorship, Bhatt had also filed a PIL in the Delhi High Court in 2005, challenging the legislative amendments to ban smoking and drinking scenes in films and television serials.

Tags: Amitabh Bachchan, Bachchan, Bollywood, Mahesh Bhatt, Ramadoss, Shahrukh Khan

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the government to reinstate eminent cardiologist P. Venugopal as director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) rejecting the law seeking his removal as AIIMS director after a raging row with Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.

“I am happy that the Supreme Court has upheld the truth,” Venugopal said.

The bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and H.S. Bedi also declared as “malafide and unconstitutional” the union government’s law that fixed the retirement age of the AIIMS director at 65 years.

This amendment was passed in November 2007 after which Venugopal was removed. Against this decision Venugopal challenged the law in SC. It was today when SC strikes down AIIMS amendments and reinstates him to take over as the Director later in the day.

While Venugopal did not talk to the reporters directly, he conveyed his reaction to them through senior resident doctor Anil Sharma.

“The decision has thwarted the game-plan carried out in parliament,” Sharma said quoting Venugopal, who made no direct reference to Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss with whom he had a bitter row.

The resident doctors association of the hospital, which has been backing Venugopal in his tussle with Ramadoss, maintained that he would back in office as soon as possible.

“This is a victory of truth. It is a victory of the people of the country. Ramadoss is responsible for the entire fiasco and he should resign,” said Kaushal Kant Mishra, spokesperson for the Resident Doctors Association.

“This judgment of the Supreme Court has clearly sent a message that please don’t interfere with the functioning of the autonomous institutions and don’t tinker with the intellectuals who have given their life to build up these institutions,” said Mahendra Singh, Venugopal`s lawyer.

AIIMS Faculty Association president Dr Vinod Khaitan said Venugopal has become the symbol of the dignity of the medical fraternity and demanded the resignation of Ramadoss.

“It is very rarely that a parliament act is struck down by the Supreme Court. And he (Ramadoss) wanted to remove one person who became the symbol of autonomy of AIIMS, Dr Venugopal,” Khaitan said.

“It is not becoming of the Health Minister, so he must resign,” he said.

Former union health minister Sushma Swaraj is also asking Ramadoss to resign from his post following the verdict.

On the other side Ramadoss was shocked with the unexpected verdict. He said that there is no question of his resigning over the SC verdict.

Tags: AIIMS, Minister, Ramadoss, SC, Supremem Court, Venugopal

Former Union health minister Sushma Swaraj demanded that Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss should resign from his post after the apex court’s observations against the minister. Sushma Swaraj was upset with the manner Ramadoss used Parliament to get rid of Dr P Venugopal as director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

“This is not just a defeat for Dr Ramadoss, but also for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government. We demand that Ramadoss resign as health minister, but in case he does not do that then Dr Singh should drop him from the Cabinet,” Swaraj told journalists at a hurriedly organized press conference in New Delhi.

Dr Venugopal today reinstating his position in AIIMS after SC gave its verdict in his favour. Justice Tarun Chatterjee and Justice H S Bedi upheld the appeal of Dr Venugopal against the new law seeking his removal.

“The court has struck down only this proviso, while bringing down the age of the director to 65 has not been touched,” she said.

Moreover Swaraj critised that Ramadoss picked on Dr Venugopal and made it his prestige issue to see his exit from AIIMS.

Swaraj charged that Ramadoss would have spent his time as the Union health minister in a better manner had he done something positive to take forward the scheme announced by her to have six more AIIMS in different parts of the country.

Tags: Manmohan Singh, Minister, Ramadoss, Sushma Swaraj, Venugopal

Medical Colleges have decided to fix two years timeline to implement the recent judgment of SC of reservation of 27 per cent seats for Other Backward Classes (OBC) while all the IITs and the IIMs will take three years deadline.

A meeting was held among the minister for Health and Family Welfare, Anbumani Ramadoss, top officials of the health ministry and officials of leading medical institutes, who discussed the issue and decided that all the medical colleges aided by the centre’s exchequer will set aside 18 per cent of total seats for OBC candidates from the next academic session and the complete implementation of 27 per cent quota for the OBC candidates will be done in two years time frame.

AIIMS, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College (all in New Delhi), the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI), Chandigarh, and Jawaharlal Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry are the institutes which will implement the quota.

“It was decided to implement the quota by 18 percent of the total 27 percent prescribed in the reservation law. There is no infrastructure problem on our part. The minister is happy and we will go head with quota in a phased manner,” N.K. Chaturvedi, the medical superintendent of RML said.

It was in 2006 when the Parliament had passed a bill granting for 27 per cent reservation to the OBC candidates in government aided institutes of higher learning which was challenged in the Supreme Court.

Last week SC gave its grant to the approval excluding the ‘creamy layer’ from the reservation quota.

Tags: Health, Ramadoss, SC

Bengal Marxist Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is now the new target for the Union Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss. After King Khan Ramadoss has trained his gun on Buddhadeb against his smoke puffs.

Buddhadeb being a leader should be an example for others. His behaviour should be ideal and should be worthy to be followed by others. Ramadoss said that he is a senior person and doesn’t need his advice.

Bhattacharjee is known to smoke in privacy of his chamber in spite of a ban in the Writer’s Building. As the chief minister was the prime offender there is no strictness on the rule. Though smoke detectors worth lakhs of rupees have been installed in all the chambers of ministers and bureaucrats but perhaps they are not working or not been activated. There seems no law for the ministers. Ironically, the chief minister has company in the Health minister Dr. Suryakanto Mishra and a number of others Left Front ministers who are also finding it difficult to kick the habit.

A nationwide survey on tobacco consumption reveals almost three-fourths of all Bengalis are hooked to the cancer stick. On this Ramadoss had to say, “Seventy per cent of men in West Bengal people take to tobacco, including the chief minister.” He also pointed out the northeastern states have the highest number of smokers in the country.

Bhattacharjee lighting up at the drop of a hat has been in the news for a long time. It surfaced in the nineties when a nettled West Bengal Finance minister Dr Asim Dasgupta upped and slapped a constable on duty on the Writers Building corridor for smoking. He proposed an enactment of a ban on smoking the corridors of the secretariat and public places. Bhattacharjee, then Home minister, and a batch mate of the finance minister told his cabinet colleague to turn a blind eye to his chamber.

Now the PWD Minister Kshiti Goswami has upped the ante and put up notices on the corridors of Writers’ Building, which reads, “Smoking and spitting on the corridors are strictly prohibited.”

Tags: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, King Khan, Ramadoss, Smoking, Tobacco