Ramdev blamed foreign pharmaceutical companies for creating dependency on synthetic drugs, which he described as “poisonous”. He claimed that millions of people die every year from these “toxic” medicines.
“The dream of medical freedom is yet to be realised. Millions of people suffer and die from allopathic medicines. Just as millions of Indians were killed during the British Raj and in various conflicts across the world, millions are now losing their lives to synthetic medicines,” Ramdev said.
Patanjali is a Swadeshi Movement: Baba Ramdev
He emphasised Patanjali’s mission to accelerate the Swadeshi movement under the banner of Patanjali Wellness and advocate for a shift towards indigenous and natural healthcare practices.
Ramdev has a history of targeting allopathic medicine, which has led to legal tussles in the past, including a lawsuit by the Indian Medical Association and an FIR being filed against him for his comments.
Recently, the Supreme Court accepted his unconditional apology in a defamation case relating to his earlier comments.
Baba Ramdev’s comments on Corona-related allopathic treatment
In July, the Delhi High Court had ordered Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna to retract their statements claiming that allopathic medicines were responsible for the deaths of lakhs of people during the COVID-19 pandemic and that Patanjali’s Coronil was a “cure” for the virus.
The medical association filed a lawsuit against Dr Ramdev, his colleague Dr Acharya Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurveda over the remarks. The suit alleges that Dr Ramdev made “baseless claims” that Coronail was a treatment for COVID-19, even though it is only approved as an “immune booster”. A senior lawyer representing the medical association urged the court to restrain Dr Ramdev and others from making similar remarks in future.
(ToI input included)
