Our beloved Health Minister

In Tamil language Anbu means affection and Mani means jewel. So our health minister is jewel of affection. We don’t know if his name means giving affection or receiving affection but it’s obvious that his father Mr. Ramdoss had loved to name him that name which has affection in it.

Let’s chart the rise to power Mr. Anbu Mani. His Father Mr. Ramdoss is the head of this regional party in Tamil nadu called as PMK (pattali makkal katchi) which translates into the people’s party of a pattalis. I think that refers to a particular community called vanniyar. This incidentally it is the same community to which the great Robin Hood sandalwood smuggler in Tamilnadu the honorable Mr.Veerappan belongs to. This community has also nothing do with “iyers”, who otherwise are called Brahmins and are a docile and a hounded lot in Tamilnadu.

Mr. Ramdoss shot into through the film media. He first attacked Tamil superstar Mr.Rajinikant saying that his smoking habits on screen are a bad influence for the younger generation. That was just before the release of his movie Baba.It threatened to snowball into a crisis. While Rajinkanths fans were egging for a fight, the supporters of Mr.Ramdoss did some acts to antagonize the superstar hoping to draw him into a political fight. The superstar aka the Gandhi of south did not take the bait. Honors went to Mr.Ramdoss and he was in public gaze for enough time to win him enough seats.

That was when the family discovered the trick to get noticed. It was to ride piggy bank on movie stars. It was a successful trick in the south so father passed on the trick to his son. His son our beloved health minister uses the same trick on bollywood movie stars and they lacking the wisdom of Rajinkanth have picked up his bait. The more bollywood fights back the better it is for him as he gets to remain in the limelight. If bollywood fails to fight then our hero Anbu Mani would pull out one more trick to which can instigate bollywood to fight back. So it’s a win win situation for him. You can observe more tricks coming out against bollywood as elections approach.

In tamilnadu his father came out with his historic proclamation: Speak Tamil--Read Tamil—Write Tamil and in response the then Chief Minister of Tamilnadu put a direct question to Dr. Ramadoss as to whether his son Dr. Anbumani will ever speak in Tamil at least in Tamil Nadu and dress like a Tamilian at least in Tamil Nadu. The party has used Tamil as a tool to get on to the bandwagon of power. The recent spat with the Tamil nadu chief minister was over sharing the spoils on a township project. All was quiet after they came to an “understanding”

The saga of his epic battle with the noted cardiac surgeon Dr.Venugopal is well known to all. Somewhere during that fight Mr. Anbumani said these lines, “AIIMS is my institution”. We did not get his point. Was he saying that he actually owns it or rather did he mean that he treats it as his own? Since he is new to power he made that statement, while other great ministers in the cabinet do that without making such wrong noises. Check this example.

Ramadoss ordered the closure of vaccine production by three PSUs citing a June 2007 WHO report, which claimed that these units were using redundant technology. BCG Vaccine Lab (Chennai), Pasteur Institute (Coonoor) and Central Research Institute of Kasauli were asked to close down production on January 22. Incidentally, the private company -- Green Signal Bio Pharma – ( owned by a close associate of our jewel of affection ) received Rs 14 crore as loan from Union Bank of India, Chennai, for starting production of vaccines on December 27, 2007. What is the word to describe this…? “Is it called favoritism at nations cost?”

Do you think our health Minister will make some historic and real development in areas of health care? A classic example comes to our mind. Arvind hospitals in tamilnadu have pioneered the cause of cataract operations. As per government rules for each operation performed they need to be paid a certain amount. The hospital has been running from pillar to post to recover dues worth crores of rupees.

This is the irony. They have done a job which the government is supposed to be doing and instead of rewarding them they are made to suffer and the health minister of the nation has little time for the real health of the nation. He is our beloved jewel of affection.

The party of PMK shared power with NDA, then switched sides and is presently sharing power with UPA. It is having an uninterrupted run in governance for the past 9 years.