IMA Vs Ramdev: Medical body challenges Baba to an open debate on Patanjali medicines' use

Escalating the feud with Patanjali founder Baba Ramdev, Indian Medical association's (IMA) Uttarakhand unit on Saturday, challenged Ramdev for a debate with panel discussion asking him to list which allopathic hospitals have given Patanjali medicines for treatment. This move comes after IMA filed a complaint against Ramdev for his remarks against allopathy & modern medicine in Delhi. The medical body and the Patanjali founder have been in a tussle since he claimed 'Allopathy is a stupid science'.

IMA challenges Ramdev to an 'open debate' on Patanjali medicines

Previously, the IMA 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' (coarsely, in Hindi). This was in reference to the growing call on social media and among doctor associations seeking Baba Ramdev's arrest for allegedly 'spreading misinformation amid a pandemic'. IMA Uttarakhand has also demanded Ramdev to issue a video countering his claims and tender a written apology within the next 15 day 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.

What did Baba Ramdev say about allopathy?

On Saturday, 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 believed allopathy as a 'progressive science' and that the combination of allopathy, Ayurveda, and yoga would be beneficial for all amid the battle against COVID and 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.