DMK Working President M.K. Stalin on Saturday took exception to an AIIMS doctor's reported comments on dengue and sought his removal from the central team visiting the southern state to study the disease's impact.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Professor of Medicine Ashutosh Biswas told reporters on Friday that eradication of dengue "is not in the hands of the government" which, Stalin said, was "shocking and downright disgraceful".
"It is indeed a statement of extreme arrogance and ignorance, unbecoming of a doctor, which brushes aside the role of a democratically elected government to be involved in preventive actions to stop the onset of dengue infection," Stalin said in a statement here.
"Biswas' statement is counterproductive to the objective with which the central team has been sent to Tamil Nadu and in fact dilutes the significance of the visit," the DMK leader said.
"The gross insensitivity associated with this statement makes one question as to how come a member of a central team mouths a statement which reeks of arrogance? Who gave him the authority to issue such statement of negligible merit?" Stalin said.
He said he urged the central team to structure their recommendations in such a way that the state government's request for funds is honoured.
Stalin demanded Biswas' removal from the team for "creating panic among people".