NEW DELHI: A gag order against the press media is among many orders Dr M Srinivas signed on the day he was appointed as the new director of the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi.
In an office memorandrum issued on Saturday, the new chief has asked his faculty and staff not to interact with the media regarding the functioning of the institute and that only designated officials will be allowed to speak to the press.
Signed by chief administrative officer Deo Nath Sai, the memorandum stated that the direction was issued with the approval of Dr Srinivas M. He took charge of the premier institute on the same day. “It is brought to the notice of all faculties/officers/employees of AIIMS that only designated officials will speak with the media after approval from the competent authority,” the memorandum read.
The diktat is against the general practice of news reporting, especially for the reporters who cover healthcare, to talk to various experts on a host of issues related to public health. It also helps to bring out the issues inside the institute which directly affect the exchequer and which the administration tries to stow away from public scrutiny.
However, doctors said that the diktat would withstand and would be nullified like previous gag orders. “Such bans have not worked in the past as they lead to doctors and officials speaking off the record,” a senior staff member of AIIMS said. Similar gag orders were issued in 2007 and 2003 after new directors were appointed at the institute.
The 56-year-old Srinivas, who has served the institute as a professor in the department of paediatric surgery before, was appointed as its director last week.