The sudden removal of Union Health Secretary Keshav Desiraju from the post has kicked up sharp criticism from public interest organizations which sought an explanation on the reasons for the removal affecting the public health system.

Reacting to the development, the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan expressed grave concern at the manner in which the Secretary was “transferred out in a summary and precipitate manner, barely 11 months after being appointed”.

The secretary was shifted to the Consumer Affairs Ministry on Wednesday and Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad later described it as a 'regular affair'. However, reports suggested that the step was taken after he opposed to some appointments, especially in the Medical Council of India (MCI).

“It is then a matter of public concern that a capable officer, heading the Ministry of Health has been shunted out, thus leaving a key ministry concerned with peoples’ health and welfare without an executive head. It is precisely such cavalier transfers that undermine the ability of public institutions to perform their tasks in an honest, transparent and efficient manner. The transfer of Desiraju, in fact, is a violation of the spirit of the Supreme Court’s ruling of October 2013 where the Court had asked the Centre and all state governments to take steps within three months to insulate the bureaucracy from political pulls and pressures, and further to ensure fixed tenures for serving officers,” said Dr Amit Sengupta, National Co-ordination Committee (NCC) member of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan.

“The country’s public health system is widely seen as one of the poorest performing in the world. The system has been brought to this pass as a result of systematic and callous neglect of public health care institutions. Actions such as in the present instance, that appear to defend corrupt practices and commercial interests, can only make things worse. The JSA demands that the Government of India clarify why a ‘capable officer’ (in the government’s own words) was asked to relinquish charge in such an unseemly way. The people of the country have a right to know whose interests the government of the day seeks to preserve,” a statement said.

The organization also expressed concern on the media reports that the Secretary’s transfer, among many, was linked to his unwillingness to accept Dr Ketan Desai as a key functionary of the MCI. “Dr Ketan Desai’s has attracted the attention of criminal investigative and income tax agencies on several occasions in the past,” the statement added.