IMA Uttarakhand sends Rs. 1,000 crore defamation notice to Ramdev
The Indian Medical Association's Uttarakhand unit has sent a defamation notice to Yoga guru Ramdev for his remarks about allopathic medicine, reports say. The notice seeks a video of Ramdev withdrawing his comments and a written apology within the next 15 days, failing which he would be asked to pay Rs. 1,000 crore as a compensation. Here are more details on this.
The notice describes Ramdev's remarks as a "criminal act" under the Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code. The IMA further asked the yoga guru to withdraw a "misleading" advertisement of his firm's "Coronil kit," a product that has been promoted as an effective medicine for COVID-19. If he fails to do so, the IMA would lodge a criminal case against him, it said.
"There is a lot of resentment among the IMA doctors against the statement of Baba Ramdev. The Union Health Minister has also sent a notice to Ramdev on the same stating that the statement is considered incorrect," IMA Uttarakhand President Dr. Ajay Khanna told TOI.
The IMA has now written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking action against Ramdev. In the letter, it said the yoga guru should be booked under charges of sedition. "This is in our opinion is a clear-cut case of sedition and such persons should be booked immediately without any delay under the charges of sedition," the letter read.
In a viral video last week, Ramdev had called allopathy a "stupid science." He claimed that drugs such as Remdesivir and Favipiravir, that have been approved by the country's top drug regulator, have failed to save coronavirus patients. "Lakhs of patients have died because of allopathic medicines rather than a shortage of oxygen," he said in that video.
Yoga guru claiming Allopathy as stupid science. This pandemic brings new shock every day. pic.twitter.com/1W9ojVOIGY
— Subhasree Ray (@DrSubhasree) May 21, 2021
His statements led to an uproar among doctors and science experts across the country. The IMA had on Saturday sent a legal notice to Ramdev for allegedly defaming modern medicine. On Sunday, he was forced to withdraw his statements, just hours after Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan wrote to him and asked him to do so.
Even as he withdrew his statement, Ramdev posed 25 questions to the IMA, questioning the merit of allopathic medicine in treating various health conditions. He asked if allopathy offered any permanent relief from hypertension and diabetes. "Like you found a cure for TB and chicken pox, look for treatments for liver ailments. After all, allopathy is now 200 years old," he said.
Acharya Balkrishna, Ramdev's close aid and the MD of Patanjali Ayurved Limited, tweeted that Yoga and Ayurveda are being targeted as part of a conspiracy. "As part of the conspiracy to convert the entire country into #Christianity, #Yoga and #Ayurveda are being maligned by targeting @yogrishiramdev jee. Countrymen, wake up now from the deep slumber otherwise the generations to come will not forgive you."
