Take AIIMS again

In its relentless targeting of P. Venugopal, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the Centre has curiously improvised its way to a possible solution. That solution can be had, if only the government would pause, take stock and acknowledge the untenable witchhunt that has drawn it into a most embarrassing standoff with academia as well as the courts. On Tuesday the Centre8217;s counsel told the Delhi High Court that it would withdraw the decision to sack Venugopal from AIIMS, but only to bring forth a fresh articulation of charges against him. For now, therefore, the sack stands rescinded. The Central government should let it stay at that, and cut its losses. It should let Venugopal serve out the rest of his tenure. The entire episode has already taken a heavy toll. It has cast doubts on the government8217;s respect for institutional autonomy. The farther the Centre now takes the confrontation, the more its image will be eroded.

In fact, Tuesday8217;s submission in court could be the turning point in salvaging that image. It is courageous to confess that the charges against an official pursued by the government at the highest level are in fact not worth scrutiny by the judiciary. In itself, it could invite confidence that a valuable lesson has been learnt. Sadly, that does not seem to be happening. Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium8217;s statement that the government would circulate a fresh litany of charges against the AIIMS director confirms the suspicion that it is not the charge of impropriety that is at the heart of the matter. It confirms that a minister8217;s personal vendetta has drawn his government into fixing the AIIMS director.

Therein lie the stakes for Dr Manmohan Singh8217;s government. He has repeatedly put administrative reform at the centre of his prime ministerial agenda. His health minister8217;s personal dislikes and the politics of quotas cannot be allowed to hijack him to a battle that militates against his larger vision for bureaucratic and institutional competence. He must make this call: there are no gains to be had from returning to court with ever newer charges against Venugopal.