Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said former AIIMS CVO Sanjiv Chaturvedi was “neither suspended nor transferred” but just “re-profiled”. And this, he said, he did to restore the image of the CVC which had objected to Chaturvedi’s posting in 2012 and 2013 but the UPA Government went ahead with him.
The disregard of CVC’s directives was part of a design to weaken the institution, he charged even as he maintained that he has now placed all systems in central hospitals, including AIIMS, under critical review to end corruption.Admitting that corruption does exist in hospitals in various ways from kickbacks from suppliers to reserving beds and facilities for employees or VIPs, he said, he was taking steps to rectify them.
Defending Chaturvedi’s removal, Vardhan said his designation as the CVO was opposed by the Central Vigilance Commission in 2012 and 2013.And by removing him “I therefore did my bit to restore the image of the CVC,” he said in a statement here.Vardhan, while regretting that a political slant was given to the “re-profiling” of Chaturvedi's job, said, “he has neither been suspended, nor transferred”.The previous UPA Government and AIIMS had defended the appointment, saying AIIMS was an autonomous body and the CVC’s nod for it was not necessary.
Contesting the decision of his unceremoniously removal, Chaturvedi, has alleged that the order bypasses the directions of PMO and Civil Services Board’s repeated commitments to the parliamentary committee statuary approvals under the AIIMS Act, 1956. He has demanded revoking of the order.
“On one hand, the Prime Minister publicly declares ‘na khaunga, na khane dunga’ (will not indulge in corruption nor allow others) and speaks of a new work culture based on honesty and efficiency and on the other hand right under his nose in the most prestigious medical institute of the country, certain corrupt elements succeed in achieving what they could not in the past two years,” he alleged.