Appointment made on the basis of academic credentials and probably favorable ideology: ABVP's Dr Subbiah on AIIMS Madurai row

The ABVP National President Dr Subbiah S was appointed as a board member of AIIMS, Madurai. This drew a lot of flak online
Subbiah Shanmugam
Subbiah Shanmugam

On October 15, Dr Subbiah S, the National President of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad was appointed as a member of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Madurai board. The appointment of Subbiah, who is the head of the Surgical Oncology Department of the Government Kilpauk Medical College and Government Royapettah Hospital, Chennai, has since drawn a lot of flak, citing a harassment allegation against him, by a 60-year-old woman.

The said incident allegedly occurred in July, after Subbiah and his neighbour who accused him of harassment had a disagreement over a parking slot. Subbiah had previously denied all allegations. His neighbour who initially filed a complaint later withdrew the same. Talking to EdexLive, he says that he does not wish to comment on the controversy and that he is being targetted politically.

He said that the appointment was made solely on the basis of his academic achievements and not political allegiance. "I'm already part of the executive committee of AIIMS Hyderabad. I'm conducting its online interviews now. I'm also the EC member of  Pondicherry University and the Central University of Tamil Nadu. These appointments are made exclusively on the basis of my academic credentials," says Subbiah. "I've been a professor of medicine for the past 10 years and an HOD for the past five years. I have 83 publications in national and international journals. During this COVID time, I never stopped operating on cancer patients. My services have been acknowledged globally," he adds.

He also said that these institutions have criteria to fulfil to make these appointments. "Academic qualifications are what they look at. Probably they look at favourable ideology too," he says. At the same time, he says that he finds it quite difficult to manage his time, given all his duties. "I am conducting the AIIMS Hyderabad interviews online now. These academic activities are quite time-consuming and are done without any remuneration. I am doing it because of my academic interest," says Subbiah, who stresses that he is not a politician and is an academician. "I am with the ABVP because it is a student organisation," he says.

At the same time, commenting on the disagreement with his neighbour, Subbiah says, "I have bought three car parking slots from the builder. Why should I fight with my neighbour for car parking?" He added that the issue had been amicably solved. The social media posts against Subbiah were also condemned by the Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association.

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