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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Plea in HC for fresh polls, new body

Dr. Rumi F. Beramji Mumbai : A senior medical practitioner has knocked on the doors of the Bombay High Court, alleging serious irregularities in the functioning of the Maharashtra Council of Acupuncture (MCA) and challenging the continuation of its current Administrator.   In a petition filed through Advocate Sharad V. Natu, Dr. Laxman Bhimrao Sawant has termed the appointment and prolonged tenure of former MCA Chairman as “illegal and arbitrary,”  and detrimental to the cause of Acupuncture....

Plea in HC for fresh polls, new body

Dr. Rumi F. Beramji Mumbai : A senior medical practitioner has knocked on the doors of the Bombay High Court, alleging serious irregularities in the functioning of the Maharashtra Council of Acupuncture (MCA) and challenging the continuation of its current Administrator.   In a petition filed through Advocate Sharad V. Natu, Dr. Laxman Bhimrao Sawant has termed the appointment and prolonged tenure of former MCA Chairman as “illegal and arbitrary,”  and detrimental to the cause of Acupuncture.   Dr. Beramji, who headed the five-member statutory body 's inaugural term (from May 2018 to May 2023), was subsequently appointed as its Administrator after the council’s term expired.   According to Dr. Sawant’s plea, the Administrator’s appointment was initially meant to be a stop-gap arrangement for one year, and it was ‘extended’ later. However, nearly three years later, the position continues without fresh elections being conducted, raising questions over adherence to statutory norms and principles of governance.   Dr. Sawant has further contended that while Dr. Beramji was installed as Administrator, the remaining members of the council were effectively superseded, leaving the regulatory body without its mandated collective structure, and over 6500-members directionless.   The petition claims that the delay in conducting elections was justified on the grounds of an incomplete voter list, but this reason was flimsy considering the extended time lapse.   The petition, likely to come up for hearing on Tuesday (April 21), also levelled serious allegations regarding the manner in which the MCA has been run under the Administrator. It claims decisions have been taken unilaterally, whimsically and without transparency or institutional accountability.   Besides, Dr. Sawant has made allegations of selective targeting of certain members who have attempted to raise valid issues, including the globally-renowned noted acupuncture expert Dr. P. B. Lohiya of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.   Adding to the controversy, a former MCA office-bearer has claimed that over the past three years, approvals were granted to more than a dozen acupuncture colleges in undue haste, purportedly in violation of prescribed norms and alleged shady deals.   These institutions, it is claimed, either exist only on paper or lack essential infrastructure, faculty, and facilities. In addition, around two dozen Continuous Acupuncture Education (CAE) centres were also cleared during this period.   In his multiple prayers to the high court, Dr. Sawant has sought quashing Dr. Beramji’s appointment as MCA Administrator and setting aside all policy decisions taken during his tenure in that capacity in the last three years.   The petition also urged the court to direct the state government to conduct elections to elect and reconstitute a new five-member MCA within two months.   Pending this, the plea seeks an order restraining the Administrator from continuing in office or interfering in the functioning of the MCA or the CAEs in the interest of free and fair elections or the cause of Acupuncture.   Sources within the MCA have described the situation as “deeply concerning,” alleging that individuals of international standing, such as Dr. Lohiya - who has treated prominent personalities like Sachin Tendulkar, the late Manoj Kumar, state and central ministers and other public figures - are being unfairly hounded.   The petition has called for a comprehensive review of all decisions taken during the Administrator’s tenure, a financial audit of the MCA’s financial affairs, and an independent probe by the Medical Education & Drugs Department (MEDD) into the approvals granted to the institutions in recent years.   Despite repeated attempts by  ‘ The Perfect Voice’ , top MCA officials like the Administrator or the Registrar Narayan Nawale, were not available for their comments.

Loyalist Installed

The election of C.P. Radhakrishnan as India’s 15th Vice-President comes as less a surprise than a calculated consolidation of political control. The Maharashtra Governor, a two-time Lok Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu and a veteran of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), secured 452 of the 767 votes cast, comfortably defeating the INDIA bloc’s candidate, former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy, who garnered 300 votes. Beyond the arithmetic, the results reveal fissures within the Opposition, namely cross-voting by some MPs which underscores the fragility of the Opposition bloc.


The circumstances of the contest were unusual. Jagdeep Dhankhar’s abrupt resignation in July, citing health concerns, left the office unexpectedly vacant on the first day of the Monsoon Session. Dhankar’s last days proved a major embarrassment for the BJP. It was the second such sting for the ruling party in a decade over high-profile appointments - the first being Satyapal Malik, whose tenure as Governor devolved into open criticism of the government. In contrast, Radhakrishnan’s ascent represents a careful correction. Rather than ‘importing’ a figure from outside the party fold, the BJP has installed a loyalist with deep roots in its ideological ecosystem.


Radhakrishnan’s profile is emblematic of the BJP’s current strategy. At 68, he combines parliamentary experience with an untainted public image. His political journey stretches back to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, where he became involved at the age of 16, and through the BharatiyaJanasangh, the BJP’s predecessor, of which he was a State Executive Committee member by 1974. He is a man steeped in the party’s culture and comfortable navigating its internal hierarchies.


His election carries implications beyond protocol. As Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Radhakrishnan will preside over the Upper House at a time when the BJP seeks to consolidate legislative control and assert moral authority. More subtly, his Tamilian background and belonging to the Gounder-Kongu Vellalar OBC community is expected to give a strategic boost to the party’s ambitions in Tamil Nadu, where state elections loom next year. After decades of limited penetration, the BJP’s deployment of a candidate with southern roots may be its most serious attempt yet to make inroads into a complex regional landscape.


The voting dynamics also illustrate the limitations of the opposition’s coherence. Of the 788 eligible MPs, 767 voted, yielding a turnout of 98.2 per cent. Thirteen abstentions came from smaller regional parties and one independent MP. The discrepancy between predicted and actual votes for Reddy points to not only strategic defections but also to an absence of unified discipline among INDIA bloc members.


Radhakrishnan’s victory reflects the BJP’s recognition of having an organization man who is more regionally resonant than mere ceremonial ballast. His comfortable win sends a clear message that the ruling party aims to extend its reach into regions where it has historically struggled. The Upper House, often viewed as a chamber of restraint, is about to see a more assertive hand on its gavel.

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