New Delhi, June 23: With the rift between health minister Dr C P Thakur and animal welfare minister Maneka Gandhi widening over the issue of animal experimentation for medical research, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is scheduled to meet them tomorrow to resolve the controversy. "The meeting has been called by Prime Minister which will be attended by the health minister and the animal welfare minister," sources in the health ministry said.

Representatives from the pharmaceutical industry might also attend the meeting, the sources said adding, however, they were not aware whether science and technology minister Murli Manohar Joshi would also attend the meeting.

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To chalk out the strategy, the health minister today met representatives from the drug companies and other top official like Director General (DG) ICMR and DG CSIR, the sources said. When questioned on the issue, principal scientific advisor to the government of India Dr R Chidambaram said "animal experiments are needed before developing medicines, but cruelty should be avoided."

"We should follow the global norms. We should not prevent experiments. After all it is for human good," Chidambaram said.

The health ministry has been raising the issue of difficulties being faced by the scientist community and pharmaceutical companies in carrying out research involving animals due to the regulations enforced by the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA), a body under the animal welfare ministry.
Bureau Report