PMSF: Health Ministry failed to take action against Venugopal

New Delhi, May 9 (UNI) The Progressive Medicos and Scientists Forum (PMSF) today again demanded dismissal of the AIIMS Director and accused the Institute Governing Body, headed by Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, of failing to take action against Dr P Venugopal.

''It is unfortunate that the Government and the Health Ministry has again dithered in taking any firm punitive action against Dr Venugopal who has been pinpointed by a high powered Committee for aiding and abetting anti-reservation agitation and institutionalizing caste discrimination in AIIMS,'' PMSF spokesperson Dr Vikas Bajpai said.

''The Government must realise that it cannot skirt its responsibility to take strict punitive action against Dr Venugopal now that the Thorat Committee report has clearly exposed his role in caste discrimination, merely by asking him to report back with action taken report,'' he added.

He said the governing body meeting on May 7 had sidelined the ''main'' issue and instead had been mired in futile exercise of issuing show cause notices to the faculty members.

''The main issue of taking stern action against Dr Venugopal ... has been sidelined,'' he claimed.

Dr Bajpai said issuing of show cause notices is no alternative to penalising the ''kingpin'' of the perpetrators of caste discrimination.

UNI