A day after Medical Council of India President Ketan Desai was arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation on alleged corruption charges, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the MCI has its own identity and the government does not appoint or remove its chief.
"Let me tell you that this organisation, Medical Council of India, has a separate identity. It has its own identity under the Act of Parliament," Azad told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
He said the government and the Health Ministry does not appoint the president or the chairman of MCI and "once he is appointed, we cannot remove him also".
"Neither we appoint him nor we can remove him. It is an elected body and its office bearers are elected by its state units," the minister explained.
Asked whether his Ministry would intervene in the matter, he promptly replied, "CBI has already intervened."
CBI arrested Desai last night for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs two crore to grant recognition to a medical college in Punjab.
The main objectives of MCI include maintenance of uniform standards of medical education and recommendation for recognition/de-recognition of medical qualifications of medical institutions of India or foreign countries.