The Cabinet Committee on Appointments will no doubt be tempted to approve the dismissal of P Venugopal as the director of AIIMS for political reasons, considering that the Union Health Minister, Anbumani Ramadoss, belongs to a party which is an important political component of the UPA coalition. But it would be advised to consider the issue carefully because it is not just a matter of a spat in which a political ally must be backed — right or wrong — but one which involves the principle of autonomy that is considered to be the cornerstone of India’s State-financed educational and medical institutions. This autonomy is not a fad, but a vital ingredient of academic freedom and creativity.
The Health Minister, the youngest member of Manmohan Singh’s cabinet, is the scion of a political party, the Pattali Makkal Katchi, which has, in the past, openly supported the LTTE and has been known for its confrontationist style of politics. Dr Ramadoss’s face-off with the AIIMS director is not new. Tension between the doctor-turned-politician and Dr Venugopal, one of the country’s most respected cardiac surgeons, had been building up for a while. But the minister would have been well-advised to have adopted a somewhat lower personal profile to deal with an institute which is, after all, only one of the many under his ministry. Direct ministerial intervention makes either correction of course, or even a reversal, difficult. The result is that the UPA government will now find itself compelled to ratify the suspension, if only to whitewash the ill-advised action.
Some will say this is the inevitable consequence of coalition politics. But perhaps the time has come to outline the ‘coalition dharma’ which, in essence, is the idea that ministers do not needlessly box the PM and his government into a corner in pursuit of their pet peeves or causes. This said, the basic issue still remains: the parameters of what the government terms ‘autonomy’. Whether it is the PSUs, or allegedly independent bodies like Prasar Bharti, we have been witnessing a spate of reports of government interference. In some cases it is a minister wanting to spread his or her wings, in others of bureaucrats wanting to preserve their fiefdoms. In such circumstances, it may be best to drop the pretence and either privatise the institutions, or make them into government departments.
{{/usCountry}}Some will say this is the inevitable consequence of coalition politics. But perhaps the time has come to outline the ‘coalition dharma’ which, in essence, is the idea that ministers do not needlessly box the PM and his government into a corner in pursuit of their pet peeves or causes. This said, the basic issue still remains: the parameters of what the government terms ‘autonomy’. Whether it is the PSUs, or allegedly independent bodies like Prasar Bharti, we have been witnessing a spate of reports of government interference. In some cases it is a minister wanting to spread his or her wings, in others of bureaucrats wanting to preserve their fiefdoms. In such circumstances, it may be best to drop the pretence and either privatise the institutions, or make them into government departments.
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