HK Jethi had sought repatriation, Harsh Vardhan clarifies

New Delhi: Under attack, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said that Chief Vigilence Officer of Medical Council of India HK Jethi had written to the Health Ministry requesting repatriation to his parent cadre and that his application was just forwarded by his Ministry to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

He also said in an official statement that the media reports on the issue are without basis and end up confusing the people.

CVO Jethi, an officer of the Indian Ordnance Factories Service, was unhappy with his appointment which goes back to October 3, 2013.

"He had written three letters (dated April 29, 2014, August 25, 2014 and October 1, 2014) to the Ministry of Health requesting repatriation to his parent cadre."

"The fact of the matter is that the Ministry had indeed forwarded his applications to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). The post of CVO in MCI comes under the mandate of DoPT while the appointing authority is the Central Vigilance Commission," Vardhan said.

The Ministry had taken a sympathetic view of Jethi's complaints as to his safety when he made a personal representation to senior officers, he said.

Expressing his disappointment over being attacked in some media reports, he said, "My agenda to reform medical education and root out corruption in all institutions continues notwithstanding these reports."

The Minister pointed out that soon after assuming office he had constituted a Committee of Experts under Professor Ranjit Roy Chaudhuri to comprehensively review the Medical Council of India Act, 1956.

The recommendations of this committee would go a long way in bringing transparency to MCI's dealings, he said.