IMA writes to PM Modi against Baba Ramdev

Indian Medical Association (IMA) has recently written a letter to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to stop the misinformation campaign on vaccination by Yog Guru Baba Ramdev, Owner of Patanjali Ayurved. IMA has urged to take appropriate action under sedition and other offences against Baba Ramdev

According to Dr. J A Jayalal National President, Indian Medical Association is proactively spearheading your commitment for ensuring vaccination of all persons aged 18 and above, as the tool to overcome the Coronavirus pandemic. We are proud to say that the Hon’ble Prime Minister of our country has taken this responsibility on his shoulders to undertake an awareness campaign for educating the masses in India to come forward for vaccination, being provided by the Government of India as free, to be the most efficacious solution for the country to overcome and conquer the menace of Covid-19.

The entire Government of India led from the front by you is working day and night continuously for ensuring smooth availability of requisite quantity of vaccine for effective vaccination of the entire population of the country at the earliest, stage by stage and appealing / reaching out to common man, persuading them to come forward for vaccination to help the entire nation to get rid of Covid-19..

Dr Jayalal said, “We have also proactively supported and endorsed this campaign of the Government and even in the initial days, members and office-bearers of IMA had stepped forward and volunteered to get vaccinated in order to dispel any hesitancy amongst the public in relation to the vaccination program. With the sincere efforts of the Government and the modern medical health care professionals, India could vaccinate nearly 20 crore people, one of the fastest vaccination drives in the world. We thank your initiative to augment the domestic production of more vaccines and approval of vaccines from other countries to be used in our country.”

It is gratifying to note that only 0.06 % of people who have received both the doses of vaccine got minimal infection by a Coronavirus, and very rarely did vaccinated people have any severe infection. It is well proved, that by vaccination we can save our people and country from the catastrophic cascades of this severe infection. Even worldwide, vaccination has been found to be the most effective solution to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic and prevent the loss of lives to the maximum extent possible.

Dr Jayesh Lele, Scretary General, IMA, said, “ We are grateful to our Prime Minister for your efforts to address the importance of vaccination in all your public addresses along with Covid-19 appropriate behaviour. We appeal to you to give further motivation for this in your forthcoming MANN KI BAAT episode too. At this juncture, we are pained to bring to your kind notice, two videos where Baba Ramdev, is seen inter alia to be claiming that 10,000 doctors have died in spite of taking both the dose of vaccine and that lakhs of people have died due to allopathic medicine.”

He has also claimed that “Allopathy Ek stupid Aur Diwaliya Science Hai” and that thousands of people have died from taking allopathic medicines for treatment of COVID-19 related symptoms. These videos are circulating virally in the social media.

Dr Jayesh Lele, said, “We the members of the modern medicine professional submit that we follow the guidelines and protocols issued by the Ministry of Health through ICMR or the National task force in our treatment offered to millions of people coming to our hospitals.”

According to Ravi Wankhade, Past National President, IMA, if someone is claiming that allopathic medicine has killed people. Then it is challenging the Ministry which has issued the protocol for treatment to us as well as the office of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) which have approved the said allopathic drugs for treating / helping COVID19 patients.

IMA, the professional organization of Modern Medicine Doctors has time and again stated that it respects, acknowledges and compliments all systems of medicine especially our Indian system of Ayurvedic Medicine, as each system is helping our people differently. We are not against any medicine promoted by the Ministry and happy to share the drugs promoted by the AYUSH ministry in most of our public health treatment centers. We opposed certain drugs which were being falsely promoted as “curative” drugs, without any approval from the Ministry / competent authorities. Ministry of AYUSH had also issued a Press Release to Patanjali to stop advertising / claiming its drug “CORONIL” as a “cure” for Coronavirus.

In this war against the COVID-19 pandemic, modern medicine doctors have been fighting on the front-lines, putting their own lives at risk for treating COVID-19 patients including very critical patients. The country has lost 753 doctors in the first wave and 513 in the second wave. None in the first wave could receive the vaccine and the majority who had died in the second wave also could not take their vaccine for various reasons. However, people such as Baba Ramdev by making false statements are spreading rumours and creating / strengthening [ instead of removing] hesitations / superstitions in the minds of the common man thereby discouraging / in effect stopping them from getting vaccinated.

Such rumours and hesitations / superstitions created through false statements made in the public domain – are leading to a situation where the common man is getting be fooled into doubting the necessity of getting vaccinated and is keeping himself away and not coming forward for imminently essential vaccination exercise – required to be completed as expeditiously as possible.

Baba Ramdev in his publicly made statements has deceitfully and falsely stated that 10,000 doctors have died in spite of taking two doses of vaccination. It is a deliberate move to stall the efforts of vaccination to reach our masses and it needs to be curtailed immediately.

There are numerous reports from various parts of the country where the frontline workers who have been tasked with carrying out the vaccination drives, including ASHA workers – also getting impacted by false and misleading assertions Baba Ramdev and others against vaccination, that they are being assaulted and attacked by people who have fallen for such rumours and superstitions. In some cases, it has been reported that people are fleeing the vaccination drives even by jumping into the river.

This clearly demonstrates the widespread fear and panic created in the minds of the common public through the false, scurrilous and malicious statements made by people such as Baba Ramdev who enjoy huge public following and are able to brainwash the layman.

We are also pained to witness that the invaluable services rendered by nearly 10 lakh Modern medicine doctors, with dedication to keep the mortality of our corona patients around 1 percent despite limited manpower and resources [which many developed countries also couldn’t achieve] – are being ridiculed and mocked, and being called a “stupid system”.

We appeal to you to take appropriate action against all individuals including Baba Ramdev who are spreading rumours and superstitions [ for their own vested interests], and are viciously propagating the message of fear of vaccination and challenging the Government of India’s protocols for treatment.

Baba Mr. Ramdev, by spreading rumours, falsehood and superstitions amongst the public – through his false, scurrilous and malicious statements – on the one hand is discouraging / stopping people from coming forward for vaccination thereby completely frustrating the sincere efforts being made by the Government in this regard and on the other hand his only objective being achieved is to make profits and gains at the expense of the lives of millions of people.

Further, by spreading disbelief and rumours about the Coronavirus vaccines and as a result, the vaccination campaign of the Government of India, Baba Ramdev is not only causing disaffection towards Government but is also committing acts which have disturbed and are likely to further disturb public tranquility.

Baba Ramdev is getting success in persuading people, contrary to the campaign of the Government of India for vaccination of the entire country expeditiously for overcoming and conquering the pandemic – is deeply hurting the national interest and his acts of omission and commission in this behalf are clearly constituting an offence of working against the interest of the country.

This in our opinion is a clear-cut case of sedition besides and in addition to causing irreversible damage to the national interest and the poor masses of this country. Such persons should be booked immediately, without any delay, under the charges of sedition and all other applicable provisions of law. We appeal to you to take strict action to ensure that the modern medicine doctors who are risking their lives on a daily basis to treat and help the COVID-19 patients – do not lose their morale or motivation on account of such false and scurrilous statements made in the public domain.

IMA is committed to serving on the frontlines with the Government in this Covid-19 war, however, it needs your support against such attempts to ridicule and mock the modern medicine doctors, and to cause disaffection against the Government and its vaccination program, thereby also endangering the health and safety of the masses.