Taking strong exception to Baba Ramdev’s statements which mocked COVID-19 patients who have required oxygen support, Indian Medical Association (IMA) vice president Dr Navjot Singh Dahiya on Saturday lodged a complaint against the yoga guru at the Jalandhar police station and sought strict action against him.
In a video that has gone viral on the internet, Ramdev said that patients “just don’t know how to breathe properly” and are “spreading negativity” by complaining of a shortage of oxygen.
In his complaint, Dahiya – who made headlines recently when he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a ‘super spreader’ for holding election rallies during the pandemic – also accused Ramdev of using ‘defamatory and insulting language towards doctors’.
Dahiya demanded a high-level inquiry against Ramdev, saying a criminal case should be registered against him for creating panic regarding the treatment of COVID-19 patients and spreading propaganda to not get treated by doctors. The IMA vice president also said that Ramdev used defamatory and insulting language against the medical fraternity and has intentionally violated directions issued to treat COVID-19 patients.
In his complaint to the Jalandhar commissioner of police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Dahiya also demanded action Acharya Balkrishna, the CEO of Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar, and wrote:
“Baba Ramdev’s video surfaced on the internet and on the national news channels, in which he advised the COVID-19 patients to not to go to the hospitals for treatment but should cure the symptoms themselves by following his advice. Ramdev also stated in the video that if anyone is having deficiency in their oxygen levels, they should do ‘Anulom vilom Pranayama’ and ‘Kapalbhati Pranayama’. He gave advice to the COVID-19 patients against the advice/directions issued by the Government of India for the treatment of COVID-19 and in that way pushed the patients towards their deathbeds without any treatment from the hospital. The accused should be punished as per law.”
India has so far reported 2.26 crore confirmed case of COVID-19, with more than 2.46 lakh people dying due to the disease according to official estimates. Experts say that the actual tally of infections and deaths is much higher than the official figures.
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