Quick health check needed

Two things have gone unnoticed in the sound and fury of the anti-quota stir by the medical fraternity. One is the stridency of the PMK. It's been more aggressive than other UPA allies in hustling the government into announcing a quota regime in central institutes from the 2007 academic session. The other is the emergence of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences as the hub of the agitation. All activity is centered at this premier institute whose faculty is backing the students completely. Consequently, the AIIMS hospital is the worst hit. It is functioning at 25 per cent of its capacity while other government hospitals in Delhi are working almost normally. And thereby hangs a tale, which may explain why the agitation has reached the pitch it has.

The crux of the story is the two-year old battle between AIIMS director P Venugopal and Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, whose father leads the PMK. They've been at loggerheads ever since Ramadoss, a doctor himself, was appointed minister and he took over the AIIMS guest house for a lengthy period till he was allotted an official bungalow. The institute's grapevine is laden with stories about frequent clashes between the minister and the hospital administration over the lavish renovations at the guest house (which the AIIMS budget had to fund), the meals that went beyond the regular menu and the constant stream of visitors who had nothing to do with medicine.

Then, there was that ugly incident when Ramadoss decided to pay a midnight visit to the casualty ward. He didn't like what he found, summoned Venugopal and upbraided him and other senior doctors publicly. They've been at daggers drawn since. The friction exploded in a lightning strike by Class IV employees of the hospital, for which the faculty grapevine blamed some associates of the minister.

It's no secret in health ministry circles that Ramadoss has been trying to get Venugopal removed. But the director is no mean player himself. He's used his political connections, managed an audience with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and lobbied the medical fraternity to back him in his feud with the minister. He's a bit on the defensive now because of a petition in court challenging his appointment. Two weeks ago, the court issued notices to all the parties.

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So could the agitation have been part of a proxy war between the two pillars of the country's health sector? Those watching the strike from close quarters believe so. Certainly, Venugopal has done little to crack down on striking doctors or pacify agitating students.

On the contrary, the protestors have had a free run of the AIIMS campus. They spread out their tents, hooked up their fans and carried on with their stir without impediment. As for the minister, his party took the government by surprise with its shrill campaign for quotas. Even that original Mandalite, Lalu Prasad Yadav, has been less vocal. It was the PMK that wanted an ordinance immediately. It's the PMK that's aggressively opposing staggered quotas. Ramadoss senior met each and every political leader of the UPA to press his case. The government dare not rein in the Ramadoss father and son.

Congress coalition dharma means adopting a hands-off policy towards the allies. So, mediators concentrated on co-opting Venugopal. Note how the AIIMS director has been a key figure in all discussions. Arjun Singh couldn't have imagined that his quota salvo, which was aimed at the PM, would cause the politics of the health ministry to explode on the streets.

Email: a_jerath@dnaindia.net