Liquor baron eyeing Sai Baba’s hospitals

Adikesavulu Naidu says he's concerned about the hospitals run by the Sathya Sai Central Trust; claims he can handle it more efficiently as he's proficient in the healthcare domain

Liquor baron eyeing Sai Baba's hospitals

Adikesavulu Naidu says he's concerned about the hospitals run by the Sathya Sai Central Trust; claims he can handle it more efficiently as he's proficient in the healthcare domain

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Medical Sciences, which specialises in cardiology, neurology and neurosurgery, provides healthcare free of cost, while Vaidehi Hospitals charge a fee for the same

A member of parliament from the TDP, Naidu has been running Vaidehi Group of Hospitals in the city. He had taken over Mallya Hospital, promoted by Vijay Mallya, a few years ago and is keen on the growth of his healthcare business.

Naidu claims that he is not interested in the trust, but is only concerned about the hospitals run by the trust since it's a domain he is most equipped to handle.

"Naidu was nursing the idea of controlling the Sathya Sai Hospital in Bangalore as well as the hospital in Anantapur for some time now.

Member of parliament from the TDP Adikesavulu Naidu

He had made his intentions clear even when the Baba was with us. However, nobody paid heed as the idea is against the Baba's principles of charity. Now after his demise he is showing similar overtures," said a trust member.

Earlier attempt
Naidu, who is also former chairman of Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams Trust (TTDT), was accused of plotting to enter the trust, when the Baba was hospitalised last month.

Trust members and devotees saw these developments as a bid by Naidu to take over the trust decided to keep him at bay. Following that, he had blamed trust members for entrapping the Baba and overdosing him with medication and demanded to overview treatment.

He said earlier, amid speculations about Baba's actual health status, "I suspect something is amiss with the Baba's treatment. It should not be kept secret and people experienced in hospitals and treatment like me should be allowed to overview everything."

In cahoots?
Now however, he has resurfaced with the idea of taking over the hospitals. And reportedly, divided opinion among trust members is helping in his ends. According to sources, R J Ratnakar, Baba's nephew and trust member, is understood to be in sync with Naidu's idea, while others oppose it.

While Ratnakar is tipped to become chairman of the trust, members are not for it and insiders said that the trust would continue without a chairman. Among many reasons, his hobnobbing with Naidu seems to be one that has opposition growing.

"We know some persons with vested interests are busy in their design and though we don't want to name anyone, we the trust members need to be united to check them," said Srinivasan, a trust member.

Naidu said he was not interested in controlling the trust, but only concerned about the hospitals.

"My concern is that the social works undertaken by the Baba must be carried forward and the hospitals must be run properly. I am prepared to do my bit in this regard, if asked," he said.

'Let experts handle'
According to Dr Anjum Chanda, chief administrative officer of Vaidehi Hospitals, Naidu's logic is that domain experts should be allowed run the business.

"We know that some members of the trust are well versed in the education field, so let them look after the educational institutes. The trust as a whole should look after the financials. Therefore, it is better to hand over the hospitals to health care experts and we are most suitable," she said.

Encroachers
According to a citation in a report by the Ramaswamy committee that was constituted by H D Kumaraswamy government in 2006, the Viadehi Hospital is built on government land after encroaching. The then Deputy Commissioner of Bangalore city had issued a notice to the hospital regarding this, but it cost him his job instead of clearing the encroachment issue.

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