Ramadoss-Venugopal face-off today

New Delhi: A crucial meeting of the apex decision-making body of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the nerve centre of anti-quota agitation, is scheduled for Wednesday in which ouster of its Director P Venugopal, locked in a war of words with Union Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss, may figure.

This is for the first time that Ramadoss and Venugopal will come face-to-face after a month-long standoff over the anti-quota stir that had paralysed medical services in the premier institute.

Though the agenda of the 17-member institute body was to discuss "administrative matters like promotions, grants for early retirements, appointments", the issue of the removal of Venugopal may also figure at the meeting, ministry sources said.

That the meeting could generate some heat was evident on Tuesday when senior BJP leader V K Malhotra, who is a member of the institute body, said that he would oppose "tooth and nail" any move to remove the Institute Director.

"It is a question of autonomy of the premier institute. Any move to remove Venugopal, a renowned surgeon, would be unwise," he said.

AIIMS faculty, resident doctors, students union, and the employees' union closed ranks and came out in support of Venugopal.

Condemning the alleged interference of the Health Minister in the autonomy of the institute, they said they stood united with the director and support him in his endeavour to preserve the autonomy of the institute.

At the other end of the divided medical fraternity, a group of doctors, faculty members and students under the banner of Medicos Forum For Equal Opportunities favouring "affirmative action" on the reservation issue accused Venugopal of pursuing "dictatorial attitude".

They also demanded a through inquiry into the functioning of AIIMS under Venugopal's leadership. "Government should take prompt action to undo the specific instances of injustice done to the reserved category doctors."

Meanwhile, a group of doctors, led by the Head of the Neuro Department S S Kale, filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the Centre to protect the institution's autonomy.

In the midst of the controversy, Ramadoss had last month announced setting up of a three-member committee headed by Dr M S Valiathan, founder Director of the Kerala-based Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, to go into the functioning of AIIMS.