A day after he shared dais with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi at a global event on polio here, Union Health Secretary Keshav Desiraju, a top bureaucrat has been shunted out from the Health Ministry on Tuesday.
The top position lies vacant as no name has been announced so far by the Ministry. Though no official reason was given for the removal of Desiraju, sources said that the unceremonious move followed the official’s differences with Azad on various crucial issues including the election of the new members of the Medical Council of India (MCI).
Sources said that Desiraju was allegedly upset over the fact that at least 17 doctors out of the 68 new members nominated or elected to the new MCI, a medical education regulatory body, were part of the previous MCI which was dissolved in 2010 on ground of rampant corruption under its ex-president Ketan Desai. It was also alleged that many members were close to Desai. Desiraju was also allegedly against one of the companies selling stent in the country and wanted to cancel its licence despite objections by the Ministry, it is learnt.