‘Ramdev had pure political patronage’

Patanjali co-founder ‘Baba’ Ramdev and his close aide Acharya Balkrishna. Pic/X

On Tuesday, Patanjali Ayurved co-founder ‘Baba' Ramdev was once again in the Supreme Court seeking forgiveness for misleading advertisements. The court asked him and his aide Acharya Balkrishna to issue a public apology in the case, adding that it would not let them ‘off the hook'. The bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah gave Ramdev and Balkrishna a week to prove they were remorseful of their actions. In light of the developments, mid-day reached out to two doctors from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), former IMA vice president Dr Jayesh Lele and former IMA president Dr Ranjan Sharma.

Why IMA approached SC

"When we were fighting a war against COVID-19, Ramdev started making fun of scientific medicine. When we were mourning the death of our 800-odd colleagues, he kept saying the doctors who could not save themselves cannot save the public," recalled Dr Sharma. Soon, there was the launch of Coronil, which Patanjali falsely marketed as a cure for COVID-19, said Dr Lele. "He claimed at the time that WHO had certified their medicine. Subsequently, the RTI query I filed in consultation with other IMA members with the Aayush ministry denied this claim," he said. Both the doctors said there were attempts to first resolve matters through means like an FIR and had even called for intervention from various government bodies but there was almost no deterring action.

‘He had political patronage'

"There were a number of notices that went to Ramdev from a number of government bodies but he used to say nobody can do anything to him," Dr Sharma said. He added, "It was pure political patronage. There is no state or Central jurisdiction where he has not been given land. These clearances do not come in a day."

Misleading health claims

Public health services are proving inadequate medicines which allow those like Ramdev to flourish, Dr Sharma said. "There are serious health gaps which need to be addressed," he said. Dr Lele, meanwhile, added that the government and the media play a role in propagation of products that are marketed as medicine. "We have had patients who bought into such advertisements and started consuming the products and only after complications did they visit a hospital," he said.

What comes after this case?

The next hearing in the case is on April 23. "The court may provide certain directives. But in the coming days we want an amendment in the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, to better cater to today's day and age," Dr Lele said. On the other hand Dr Sharma said Ramdev's case is "a warning for FMCG companies that make false health claims".

April 23
The next date of hearing in the Supreme Court