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AIIMS issues ‘ad hoc job letters’
Bindu Shajan Perappadan
| Institute claims to be acting for the welfare of patients |
Results of senior residency selection held this past month were withheld for over 15 days
Allegations that the administration had discriminated against reserved quota students
NEW DELHI: Claiming to be acting for the welfare of patients, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Registrar Sandeep Agarwala has issued “temporary appointment letters” to its senior residents asking them to join duty immediately.
The Institute had withheld declaration of results of its senior residency selection examination-cum-interview held this past month for over 15 days in the wake of allegations that the Institute’s administration had discriminated against students from the reserved category.
While Institute spokesperson Shakti Kumar Gupta maintained that the results were withheld because the administration needed to seek legal advice on the issue, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss had last week directed a high-power three-member committee to look into the matter. He had also directed the Institute to “hand over all relevant papers on the matter to the committee which consisted of the Union Health Secretary, Director General of Health Services and a member of the Institute Governing Body”.
In the latest order, Dr. Agarwala has stated: “Pending legal opinion, considering the exigency of the services and patients care, the Director is pleased to offer temporary appointment to senior residents for one month or till further orders which ever is earlier. This appointment of the candidate will be without his/her right to the post or to the continuity and will be effective from the date of acceptance.”
‘Rules flayed’
Reacting to the appointments, Kapil Yadav of AIIMS said: “In defiance of all rules and regulation and orders from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, AIIMS Director P. Venugopal has gone ahead and issued appointment letters to all 91 candidates selected by him, defying provisions of reservation. Though he claims that the step was taken due to exigency of patient care, we would like to know why candidates from the reserved category who qualified the written test were not considered worthy by AIIMS administration for patient care.
“This false plea of patient welfare further falls flat on its face given the fact that the Dean of Institute has already extended the tenure of all doctors who were supposed to finish their term on June 30, 2007, thus offsetting any shortage of manpower. By issuing appointment letters to disputed candidates, Prof. Venugopal has made sure that a group of 60 residents are on his side to confront reserved candidates demanding their due right. This is again one of the many successful manipulations on caste issue by Director to perpetuate his autocratic rule in AIIMS,” added Dr. Yadav.
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