Book Ramdev for sedition: IMA to PM

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) wrote a strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, to stop the alleged misinformation campaign on vaccination by Ramdev, founder of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, and take appropriate action under charges of sedition. “We appeal to take appropriate action against individuals viciously propagating the message of fear on vaccination and challenging the Government of India protocols for treatment for their vested interest in their company products. This in our opinion is a clear-cut case of sedition and such persons should be booked immediately without any delay under the charges of sedition,” said IMA President Dr JA Jayalal and Honorary Secretary General Dr Jayant Lele.

The IMA had earlier urged Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to take action against Ramdev under the Epidemic Diseases Act for his vitriolic accusations on modern medicine especially amid the unprecedented health care crisis due to SARS-CoV-2. The association has already issued legal and defamation notices to 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 vaccine doses and lakhs of people have lost their lives due to allopathic medicine, are circulating virally in the social media, as said by Ramdev,” said the IMA. “We modern medicine professionals submit: we follow the guidelines and protocols issued by the Ministry of Health through Indian Council of Medical Research or the National Task Force in our treatment offered to millions of people coming to our hospitals. If someone is claiming the allopathic medicine has killed the people, it is an attempt to challenge the Health Ministry who has issued the protocol for treatment to us,” the letter further said. The IMA noted that it had lost 753 doctors in the first wave and 513 in the second wave. “Now deceitfully attributing 10,000 people have died in spite of two doses of vaccination, is a deliberate move to stall the efforts of vaccination to reach our masses and it needs to be curtailed immediately,” it said. The IMA said, “We are not against Ayurvedic medicine as each system is helping our people differently. However, we are opposed to certain drugs promoted without the approval of Ayush Ministry as a curative drug. …If someone is claiming allopathic medicine has killed people, it is an attempt to challenge the health ministry who has issued the protocol for treatment to us,” it added.