The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday demanded the sacking of Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss hours after the Supreme Court struck down a law that led to the sacking of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Dr P Venugopal.
New Delhi, May 8 : The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday demanded the sacking of Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss hours after the Supreme Court struck down a law that led to the sacking of All India Institute of Medical Science's (AIIMS) Director Dr P Venugopal.
The party also targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for "failing" to protect a premier institute of national importance.
"I demand the resignation of Ramadoss, and if he is not resigning, I want the Prime Minister to dismiss him forthwith," senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj told reporters here this afternoon.
She described the Supreme Court's ruling as the "defeat of Ramadoss and his malafide intentions and the defeat of the Prime Minister and his government."
"The Supreme Court striking down the AIIMS Amendment Act has established that Health Minister Ramadoss' intention was malafide and dishonest," she said.
She said the apex court's ruling has established that the Health Minister had "misused" the Parliament to satisfy his personal ego.
Ramadoss, however, said there was no question of him tendering his resignation as the AIIMS law was passed by Parliament.
He said the future course action would be decided after going through the Supreme Court order.
Last year, Dr.Venugopal had filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Parliament's decision to fix 65 years as the retirement age for the post of AIIMS director.
He alleged that the AIIMS (Amendment) Bill, 2007, passed by Parliament with retrospective effect, was aimed deliberately to remove him from service.
The Bill fixed 65 year as the retirement age of the director of the AIIMS and the Chandigarh-based Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).
The legislative measure stipulated that "the director shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains 65 years of age."
The legislation followed a Delhi High Court order that the retirement age of 62 for teaching faculty and 60 for non-teaching faculty did not apply in the case of director.
Dr.Venugopal was removed from his post in July 2007 and replaced by Dr Tirath Das Dogra.
The Bill, which was introduced in Parliament in August 2007, was opposed by the BJP and the AIADMK, as they felt that an eminent eminent cardiac surgeon was being targetted.
ANI