IMA Uttarakhand objects to Patanjali's proposal to include Coronil in state's COVID kits

Countering Patanjali yet again, Indian Medical Association (IMA) Uttarakhand on Saturday has objected to the company's proposal to include Coronil as part of the state's COVID-19 kit. Writing to Uttarakhand's chief secretary, IMA pointed out that Coronil is neither approved by WHO, DCGI, and Ayush ministry nor has been prescribed in the Centre's guidelines. IMA further stated that Coronil has been recognised as a food supplement and not as a drug or medicine as claimed by Baba Ramdev. 

IMA objects to Patanjali's proposal to include Coronil

Furthermore, IMA argued that mixing Coronil with allopathic medicines amounts to mixopathy, which has been prohibited by the Supreme Court. IMA Uttarakhand has also demanded Ramdev to issue a video countering his claims and tender a written apology within the next 15 days or face a Rs 1000 crore defamation notice. Several doctors staged a protest outside a Delhi hospital demanding action against Ramdev for defaming modern science.

Recently, Delhi High Court issued summons to Patanjali founder Ramdev Baba based on a suit seeking to restrain against his claims. The plea filed by Delhi medical association (DMA) alleged that Ramdev does not believe in allopathy and hence was making false claims of curing COVID-19 via 'Coronil'. While the court has maintained that Ramdev has a right to voice opinions on Allopathy, it has advised him from making such claims, adjourning the matter to July 13. IMA has lodged a complaint against Ramdev for his false remarks on modern science after a video emerged with Ramdev claiming that 'even their fathers couldn't arrest me' in response to growing calls for his arrest.

What did Baba Ramdev say about allopathy?

Last week, while addressing an event, Ramdev allegedly said 'allopathy ek aisi stupid aur dilwaliya science hai' ('Allopathy is a stupid & ... science'). In a press release, IMA claimed that Baba Ramdev had called doctors 'murderers' in front of the Health Minister in the pretext of the 'release of his wonder drugs' and accused the yoga guru of misleading the public by making baseless accusations to sell his 'unapproved & illegal drugs'. Demanding an apology and action against Ramdev, IMA said that doctors, who were saving lives every day, were being insulted. 

In response, Baba Ramdev's Patanjali claimed that the yoga guru was reading out a WhatsApp forward message received by him & others participating in the private event. It added that Baba Ramdev bore no ill-will against modern science & its practitioners. After Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan wrote a letter to Ramdev urging him to take back his comments, Ramdev responded by withdrawing his comments saying, "If someone's feeling has been hurt because of that, I regret it". Amid this controversy, the Haryana govt has announced it will 1 lakh Coronil kits to patients.