May 08 2008
Health Minister Ramadoss must quit: Sushma Swaraj!
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.
