THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The rift between the CPM and the CPI has cost the president of the State Pharmacy Council, a CPI nominee, dear. In a bid to remove him from the post, his nomination to the council was withdrawn by the Health Department. Though the president challenged it in the High Court, it has upheld the decision of the Health Department.
K.C.Ajith Kumar, who was the president of the State Pharmacy Council, has now lost his place and State Drugs Controller has taken over as the new president.
Ajith Kumar had replaced MNVG Adiyodi, who was the council president for almost two decades. When the LDF Government came to power, Adiyodi who was a CPI member, was removed from the post by cancelling his nomination to the council. But the bid by the CPM to anoint their man in the top post was opposed by the CPI in the LDF meeting. The council has 15 members of which three are ex-officio members, one representative from the Medical Council of India, five nominated members and six elected members.
Following the intense lobbying by the CPI, its nominee Ajith Kumar was made the council president in 2007. But the serious differences of opinion between the council president and the department continued. The appointment of a registrar by the government was challenged by the council president, which, in fact, led to the cancellation of the president’s nomination to the council. But Ajith Kumar had challenged the appointment of the registrar and the cancellation of his nomination in the High Court. The court had temporarily stayed the government’s decision to cancel his nomination in February last. However, last week the High Court withdrew their earlier decision and also quashed the government decision to appoint the registrar.
``The Health Minister’s office was trying to capture the powers of the council from the day this government came to power,’’ Ajith Kumar told `Express.’ He alleged that the issue has come up because of the rivalry between the CPI and the CPM.
The council had challenged the appointment of the registrar claiming that the government had no authority to appoint him. Apart from that, the candidate did not have the necessary qualification required for the post. It was with a vengeance that the government has acted like this, he said.
He said that the appointment of the Drugs Controller as the council president would also be challenged in the court as it was against the norms.