Hours after IMA demanded action against Ramdev over his controversial remarks on allopathy medicine, Patanjali group issued a clarification saying that the yoga guru has utmost respect for medical science and the allegations that he defamed allopathy and scientific medicine are untrue.
“It is necessary to mention that the event was a private event and Swami jee (Ramdev) was reading out a forwarded WhatsApp message received by him and various other members who were participating in the event… what is being attributed against him is false and nugatory,” said the statement signed by Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust General Secretary Acharya Balakrishna.
“It is clarified that the truncated version of the video is totally out of context of what is sought to be conveyed by Swami jee,” it said.
The trust also denied allegations made by the IMA that Ramdev has misled people by making “unlearned” statements against allopathy
Earlier, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) served a legal notice to yoga guru over his alleged statements against allopathy and “defaming” scientific medicine. In a purported video, Ramdev has claimed that allopathy is a “stupid science” and medicines such as Remdesivir, faviflu, and other drugs approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) have failed to treat Covid-19 patients
In the video, Ramdev is heard saying, “Lakhs of people have died because of allopathic medicines, far more than those who died because they did not get treatment or oxygen.”
IMA said Ramdev’s statements should be “considered as hate speech” and requested the authorities to book him under relevant sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act as he has misled people by making “untutored and unlearned” statements.
“We demand an unconditional public apology from Ramdev to allopathy and its practitioners,” the apex doctors’ body said.
Along with the IMA, the Resident Doctors’ Associations of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the RDA of Safdarjung Hospital and other medical institutes have requested Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to take strict action against Ramdev for “misleading public about Covid-19 treatment”.
