Controversy has erupted due to the recent appointment of a doctor in the board members of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Madurai. He was booked for allegedly "harassing" a woman for throwing garbage and also for urinating at her doorstep. The storm came following the release of a Gazette notification that was dated 15th October. According to the notification, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced that Dr VM Katoch, President, JIPMER, from Puducherry would be the president of AIIMS, Madurai, scheduled at Thoppur in that district.

The other members of the board include Dr Sudha Seshayyan, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University and Director General of Health Services (ex-officio). She is also the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India or his/her nominee and Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu or his/her nominee. Dr Pankaja Raghav is from AIIMS Jodhpur along with Dr V Vanajakshamma, who is a Professor Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences from Tirupati. Dr Prashant Lavania is from Sarojini Naidu Medical College from Agra, and Dr Subbiah is a Professor and Head of the Department of Surgical Oncology from the Government Kilpauk Medical College and Government Royapettah Hospital at Chennai.

With the specifying of ABVP national president Dr Shanmugam Subbiah, who is a Professor and Head of the Department of Surgical Oncology at Government Kilpauk Medical College (GKMC) as one of the 4 medical faculties from Indian universities stir a storm. The medical doctor was earlier booked by Chennai police in July this year with the charges of urinating at the doorstep of the apartment of a 62-year-old woman neighbour after an argument happened over car parking. In CCTV footage, which was released by the angry neighbour, a person alleged to be Dr Subbiah could be spotted urinating at the entrance door of the old womans apartment. He denied the allegations and the complaint was with drawn later.

According to a recent PTI report, the opposition condemned the decision of including the doctor on the board. It was also questioned why a single MP was not appointed to the board of AIIMS, Madurai. A Congress MP wrote to the Centre for cancellation of Dr Shanmugam Subbiahs appointment from Tamil Nadu.

Vaiko, MDMK founder and Madurai CPM MP Su Venkatesan also condemned Subbiahs appointment and wanted it to be cancelled. DMK president MK Stalin mentioned that Subbiah was a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which is the BJPs student wing and this appointment shows that the BJP is not worried about womens dignity. He had urged Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to immediately remove Dr Shanmugam Subbiah from AIIMS, Madurai. There are three positions under the MPs column that are vacant and MPs from the state, especially from south Tamil Nadu, should be included in the board and show respect to peoples representatives in democracy. He has also urged Chief Minister K Palaniswami to write on both issuesto the Centre. Karur Congress MP S Jothimani, in her communication to Harsh Vardhan, alleged Subbiah was caught on CCTV camera urinating outside the old womans house. She strongly urged to withdraw his nomination to the prestigious post and to send a strong message to the women of India that those who harass them won’tbe tolerated.

Meanwhile, the Subbiah told EdexLive that he is being politically targeted. He specified that his appointment was made exclusively on the basis of his academic achievements and not on any political commitment. He said that he is already a part of the executive committee of AIIMS Hyderabad and is conducting online interviews. He is also the EC member of Pondicherry University and the Central University of Tamil Nadu. All these appointments are donesolely on the basis of his academic credentials. He further said that he has been a professor of medicine for the last 10 years and an HOD for the last 5 years. He has 83 publications in national and international journals. Also, during COVID time, he did not stop operating on cancer patients. His services are acknowledged globally.

Subbiah stated while mentioning the disagreement with his neighbour that he has bought three car parking slots from the builder then why should he fight with his neighbour for car parking? He further added that the issue had been cordially solved.

Source: Medical Dialogues