BJP presses for removal of Anbumani Ramadoss

New Delhi, Aug 3: The BJP today mounted pressure on the UPA government for removal of Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss for his ''unnecessary interference'' in the affairs of AIIMS.

Referring to a fresh petition filed in the court on behalf of the Governing Body of the AIIMS, regarding Institute's Director P Venugopal, BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijasy Kumar Malhotra said the members of the Governing Body had not been consulted at all.

''I am also a member of this body. It is strange that a fresh petition for vacating the stay for removal of Dr Venugopal has been filed on behalf of the body. It is nothing but cheating and hence objectionable,'' he said.

Prof Malhotra said the Health Minister had made the AIIMS affairs ''too personalised'' and was adopting ''very unconstitutional methods'' to remove Dr Venugopal and erode the autonomy of the Institute.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should take note of the way the Health Minister was acting and remove him from the post ''to safeguard the autonomy of the premier institute,'' the BJP Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha said.

UNI