Indian Medical Association (IMA) on May 26 wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking “action under the sedition charges” against Ramdev over his statements questioning the efficacy of allopathy medicines and doctors. IMA has also urged Modi curtail the “misinformation campaign on vaccination” against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) by Ramdev.
“At this juncture, painfully we bring to your kind notice, the video claiming 10,000 doctors have died in spite of taking both the doses of the vaccine and lakhs of people have died due to allopathic medicine are circulating virally in the social media, as said by Mr Ramdev, Owner of Patanjali products,” IMA said in its letter to PM Modi.
While the Uttarakhand chapter of the IMA on May 26 has sent a defamation notice to Ramdev for his disparaging remarks against allopathy and allopathic doctors. IMA demanded an apology, either a written apology or post a video countering his statements, from Ramdev within 15 days. If he fails to do so, he will be demanded a sum of Rs 1,000 crore.
IMA (Uttarakhand) secretary Ajay Khanna has served a six-page notice by his lawyer Neeraj Pandey describing Radev’s remarks as damaging to the reputation and the image of allopathy and roughly 2,000 practitioners who are part of the association.
IMA termed the statements of Ramdev a “criminal act” under section 499 of the Indian Penal Code, and its notice demanded his written apology within 15 days of its receipt, stating compensation of Rs 1,000 crore (at the rate of Rs 50 lakh per member) will be demanded from him if he fails to do so.
As per the notice, the yoga guru has to make a video clip contradicting all the allegations he made and circulate it on social media platforms where he uploaded his earlier video levelling them.
The notice further asked Ramdev to withdraw a “misleading” advertisement from all platforms indicating his product’ coronil kit’ as an effective medicine for Covid-19. If he fails to do it, an FIR and a criminal case will be lodged against him by the IMA.
Ramdev was spotted in a viral clip in which he was identified saying that some of the allopathic medicines being used to treat the coronavirus infection “lakhs have died from taking them.”
The remarks have offended the doctors’ association so much that Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan asked Ramdev to withdraw the “extremely unfortunate” statement.
A day later, Ravdev wrote an open letter to IMA throwing 25 questions on his Twitter handle, asking if allopathy offered permanent relief for illness like hypertension, diabetes type-1 and 2, and Parkinson’s disease.
Soon after, supporting the yoga guru, Acharya Balkrishna took to Twitter and said allopathic practitioners were targeting Ramdev and Ayurveda under the IMA, which is a conspiracy.
He tweeted, “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.”
