JOIN USThe removal of Harsh Vardhan from the Health Ministry has led to wagging of tongues as several theories are abound on why the good doctor was shown the door after five months.
Speculation being heard in the power corridors range from the shadow of the tobacco lobby and medical education industry to creation of parallel power centres in the Health Ministry ignoring the bureaucrats. The upcoming Delhi Assembly election, where Vardhan may play a key role, could also be a factor behind the surprising decision.
While nobody knew the mind of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who shifted Vardhan to the light-weight Science and Technology Ministry, sources in the know of power dynamics in the capital told Deccan Herald that Vardhan ruffled too many feathers in the Health Ministry in the last five months by appointing two powerful advisers who were tasked to take policy decisions bypassing the bureaucrats.
Among other things, Vardhan’s two advisers — a former bureaucrat and a retired professor of a medical college, associated with a private hospital — were tasked to find out ways to implement strong anti-tobacco measures and forming a new regulatory body in place of the scam-tainted Medical Council of India. On the tobacco front, Vardhan not only recommended imposition of stiff taxation measures on tobacco products to the finance minister, but also explored means of strict implementation of anti-smoking measures.
Besides former Karnataka chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda, Vardhan is possibly the only case of demotion in the Cabinet rejig, as the Health Ministry is one of the key social ministries to deliver services to the people. A day after his ouster, the ENT specialist, who could be the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in Delhi in case of a favourable result in the Assembly, stayed away from controversy. He took over as India’s new science minister, a position which was used as a dumping ground of sorts by the previous UPA government.
Vardhan will be having a deputy in TDP leader Y S Chowdary who assumed charge as the MoS for Science.