Never in my recent memory have I seen the government at the center and the courts, including the Supreme and the state High Courts, go against each other as I have seen during this current regime. To my naked eye, it seems that the only wall that stands between the government and its absolute power over the country.
The President has been able to form a wall too, to an extent, but that is the post of the President, and the constitution has not been designed to give that post any powers against a democratically elected government. Had Dr. Ambedkar and the rest of our forefathers seen the sub-standard generations of politicians we have been producing ever since, I am sure they would have liked to provide more powers to that post. I am sure they would have cried to see the way our current 'elected representatives' have exploited this country and made a mockery of this entire process we called democracy. And the sad thing is that I am still blaming them when I along with the rest of the country should be blaming myself for actually putting them there.
Earlier this month I had written about the Government's attempt to take a hold of the autonomous AIIMS. They did this by putting the health minister and his cronies in high places, and then they removed the Director, Dr. P Venugopal. Apparently someone remembered that last they heard, AIIMS was still an autonomous institution, and the High Court of Delhi has stopped the removal of Dr. Venugopal.
Meanwhile, the doctors at AIIMS had continued on their protests, thus affecting the hospital's ability to treat its patients. I think i've been seeing a lot of that lately. The government does something, and the doctors sit on their asses to protest, and some innocent, sick person dies in the aftermath. I can't say I know the solution to the problem, but I can see the irony in this. Indians are best when they fight with themselves, otherwise they'll be peaceniks for the rest of the world. Look at the way India behaves with its crappy neighbors like Bangladesh and Pakistan, look at the way its politicians cower in front of China and others, but when it comes to inflicting harm on our own people, we are professional grade.
Recently a bust of Bal Thackrey's dead wife was vadalized, and true to their terroristic mindset, the Shiv Sena did what it does best, beat Mumbai to a pulp. Burning buses, shutting down shops, beating people, yes, the trademarks of a Shiv Sena protests, they were all there. I'm mentioning this here because I think it would be sacrilageous of me to even imagine that if all these fundoos and hypocrites actually got together and tried to make Mumbai a better place, or better still, actually used their violence to hunt down the dons of the underworld that have the city in their grip. Nah, I think that would be setting my hopes too high. Indian political activism is only made for one thing; to cower the government into taking a decision in their favor and keeping the common man scared and inconvenienced. Okay, if we have to stay in the country, then how about taking on the naxals and other forces that have so infested our internal organs that its scary? Nah, I think that is asking for too much too. Lets just stick to burning buses, stopping the railways and beating each other up.
Coming back to the AIIMS story, a report said even the PM and Her Majesty were upset at the Doctor for supporting student protests against the quota plan by the government. Of course they should be, after all you need guts to take a stand on issues, and when you know the Congress bends over backwards to keep its allied parties humored, then it seems pretty easy to arm-twist them into doing whatever you want them to do, ably demonstrated by M. Karunanidhi.
Manmohan, Sonia have been upset with Venugopal
Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss may have earned the wrath of the medical community with his sacking of one of India's best heart surgeons as head of the country's prestigious AIIMS hospital, but the powers that be were unhappy with his handling of the medicos' strike over the quotas issue.
Congress leaders swear that both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party president Sonia Gandhi were "very upset" over All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director P. Venugopal's perceived attempts to encourage the 14-day strike over a month ago against caste-based quotas in institutions of higher education.
Political analysts and party sources insist that Manmohan Singh was maintaining silence over the ouster of Venguopal from the AIIMS due to his unwillingness to interfere in a cabinet minister's decision.
In this particular case, any veto by Manmohan Singh would have also led to taking on an ally, the PMK, which while holding just six seats in parliament has a close relationship with Tamil Nadu's ruling party DMK.
Political analysts, however, did ascribe coalition pressures as one of the key reasons the prime minister has remained silent, publicly at least, in the battle between Ramadoss and Venugopal, leading to the latter's unceremonious sacking on Wednesday.
Said N. Bhaskara Rao, a political observer: "The prime minister seems to be thinking: 'Why should I burn my fingers? Let the Supreme Court decide.'
"After Thursday's developments (when the DMK threatened to pull out of government over New Delhi's decision to offload its shares in two state-owned companies), he is not likely to take any steps that may disturb the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)," Rao said. "It's petty politics against national interest."
"These Congress leaders feel that it is the AIADMK, PMK, MDMK and a few smaller parties that are their natural allies in Tamil Nadu, and not the DMK," said one Congress leader.
"So why should the Congress leadership support a (hospital) official at the cost of a natural ally?"
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So there you have the answer. Why should the government support a Hospital official when it has its own ass to watch out for. Screw you nation, we'd rather stay in power instead.
Delhi HC stays Venugopal's dismissal; doctors to resume work
Bringing the three-day AIIMS high drama to a close for now, the Delhi High Court has stayed the dismissal of the institute's director P Venugopal. The court has also asked the AIIMS governing body to explain within two weeks why the director was dismissed.
The governing body, headed by Union Health Minister A Ramadoss, had sacked Dr Venugopal on Tuesday for violating rule 9 of the conduct rule that prohibits government servants from criticizing the government in the media. On Wednesday, the leading cardiac surgeon moved the High Court against the termination order, pleading that his five-year term could not be cut short thus. The court has directed that there will be no action taken against Dr Venugopal till it is hearing the matter.
As news of the High Court stay became known, jubilant striking doctors indicated that they would go back to work. AIIMS doctors, faculty and medical students have been on strike ever since Venugopal was handed his termination letter.
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My goodness, it is no wonder that the US and India decided to get into a nuclear deal at this juncture. Both their governments have so much in common! They both try to cling to power, undermine the power of other democratic institutions, and basically do whatever they want.
Parliamentary committee deplores move to sack Venugopal
The move to sack AIIMS Director P Venugopal drew sharp reaction at a meeting of a Parliamentary Committee which deplored the action and several members attacked the style of functioning of Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.
JD(U) leader Digvijay Singh even recalled that the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had once said among people who needed to be respected in the country include Venugopal, a renowned cardiologist.
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So much so that in its offensive, the center has called Dr. Venugopal a miserable failure. Funny when this man has more qualifications than half of the cabinet of the Government of India. Now it seems set to go to the Supreme Court, there it will drag on, in the meantime, the UPA might bring in yet some more laws to strengthen its own position, and this story will drag on....
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