'Team India effort' for the prime minister

The choice of Dr Ramakant Panda of Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute for leading the surgery on Manmohan Singh had raised questions but he and doctors at the AIIMS on Sunday, put up a united face saying it was a 'Team India effort' for the prime minister.

"An ordinary patient has a choice to go anywhere. But for the prime minister we have to find best talent, best expertise and experience in this country to treat exactly what he needs. That is what we have done. We have brought a team of Indians.

"I don't know why all of you are not focussing on that Dr Manmohan Singh has got himself operated in India, by Indians and this is a team which has come from India. We are all Indians. We have brought in expertise that was required for the prime minister and have given him the best care he wanted in AIIMS," Dr Sampath Kumar, chief of the cardio vascular unit at the AIIMS told a press conference in the company of Panda and other doctors who were brought from outside.

He said why this point was being missed by people in reply to questions about bringing in expertise from outside for the surgery.

Conceding that Panda had the expertise in re-do bypass surgeries, Kumar said he had also done a few beating heart surgeries but re-do operation of this kind was not his forte.

"We don't have the experience as Panda has in re-do operation. That was required for the prime minister. It was very nice of him (Panda) that he accepted and joined our team to provide the prime minister the best care," Kumar said.

Obviously happy over the compliments given to him, Panda reciprocated by saying each one has an experience and each one has a role. "As a team, we came together so that our beloved prime minister gets good care. No one has become big or small."

Reddy butted in to say "we are all Indians first".