Parliament nod to AIIMS Bill amid uproar

The government on Tuesday managed the passage of a key legislation in Parliament for creation of six AIIMS-like premier medical institutes across the country despite uproar by BJP members over coal allocation issue.

The passing of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill, 2012, in the Rajya Sabha now paves the way for creation of six AIIMS-like premier medical institutes in Patna, Bhopal, Raipur, Bhubaneshwar, Jodhpur and Rishikesh.

The Lok Sabha has already given its nod to the Bill, which will replace an ordinance in this regard. The Bill will confer powers upon the Centre to establish AIIMS-like institutions by notification in the official gazette.

As the Upper House reassembled at 4 pm after three adjournments, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad moved the Bill for consideration and passage.

Left parties had earlier blocked the government's efforts to get the Bill passed without debate.

Even as BJP continued to raise uproar over allocation of coal blocks, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien took up the Bill and announced its passing by voice vote.

"The six states in which the institutes were established had requested the Central government to make them operational urgently and to commence the academic session in September, 2012," the Bill's Statement of Objects and Reasons stated.

As the uproar continued, Kurien adjourned the House for the day.

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