Hitting back at critics of Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’ kit, Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, while addressing a press conference on Wednesday said that he and his team are being treated like some terrorists or anti-nationals. “We have not committed any crime”, Baba Randev said, adding that the people who have been targetting Patanjali have been answered by the AYUSH Ministry itself, which has recognised the good work done by Patanjali.
Treated like a terrorist and anti-national, says Baba Ramdev over Patanjali's coronil controversy. #ITVideo pic.twitter.com/CjIwOHEGwX
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) July 1, 2020
“We have been subjected to baseless allegations and a vile media campaign that kept on saying things like ‘Patanjali failed’, ‘took an u-turn’ and treated us like we were criminals. It feels like that working in the field of Yoga and Ayurveda is a crime in India. FIRs were lodged against me at several places in a way like it’s done against some criminal or terrorist. People started running headlines like Ramdev will go to jail,” Ramdev said, slamming the detractors of the product.
Baba Ramdev confirmed that all the required documents and results of the tests have been submitted to the AYUSH Ministry, which has now allowed the sales of Coronil as an immunity booster.
“Acharya Balkrishna and I are providing services worldwide since the past 35 years and we are common people, coming from humble backgrounds, who have promoted Yoga and Ayurveda. Some people don’t like this. If you people have a problem with me then abuse me, we are ‘gaali-proof’, but think about people who are infected with Coronavirus and other diseases like cancer, arthritis etc. We have helped these people,” said Baba Ramdev, furthering that “all the anti-India forces, the ones running the ‘drug mafia’ and anti-swadeshi powers were shocked to see the results of our trials.”
Speaking to the media, the Yoga Guru said: “Patanjali has been praised for working to help coronavirus patients. Adding that Coronil will be made available throughout the country along with its immunity booster medicines, Ramdev stated that there are millions suffering from the disease and Patanjali wants to help people. He added that he has only been promoting healthier lifestyles.
Ayush Ministry grants approval for ‘Coronil’ kit by Patanjali, to be sold as an immunity booster
The AYUSH Ministry on Tuesday approved the sales of Patanjali’s Coronil as an ‘immunity booster’ and granted them the license to produce three medicines and also allowed clinical trial under the rules.
According to the reports, the AYUSH Ministry, while granting the approval for the sale of Patanjali’s Coronil kit, said that they will not be able to market the medicine as a ‘cure’ for coronavirus. The Ministry also said the Patanjali cannot display COVID-19 on its Coronil packaging.
The approval for Patanjali Ayurved comes after the company had launched a drug called Coronil last week, claiming that it will cure coronavirus within a week. It also claimed that they took part in a trial conducted at the privately-run National Institute of Medical Sciences in Jaipur.
FIR filed against Baba Ramdev, NIMS Director and others in Rajasthan
A First information report (FIR) was reportedly lodged against yoga guru Baba Ramdev for marketing ‘Coronil’, an Ayurvedic drug, as a cure for Coronavirus, without the approval of Ayush Ministry. The FIR was registered by the Jyoti Nagar police station in Rajasthan, on the basis of a complaint by an advocate Balram Jakhar who practices in the Rajasthan High Court.
Besides Ramdev, the FIR has pressed charges against the Managing Director of Patanjali Ayurved, Acharya Balkrishna, senior scientist Anurag Varshney, the director of NIMS, BS Tomar, and his son Anurag Tomar.
We never claimed it can cure coronavirus infections: Acharya Balakrishna
Patanjali’s CEO Chief Executive Officer Acharya Balkrishna also clarified on Tuesday that the firm never claimed it can cure coronavirus with its medicines, Coronil and Swasari tablets. The firm’s Chief Executive Officer Acharya Balkrishna added that they had just shared the favourable outcome of clinical trials on patients.
We never told the medicine (coronil) can cure or control corona, we said that we had made medicines and used them in clinical controlled trial which cured corona patients. There is no confusion in it: Acharya Balkrishna, CEO Patanjali pic.twitter.com/LfPCxML0jg
— ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2020
The Centre had stopped the firm from advertising their products after it had said that the facts of the claim and details of the stated scientific study are not known to them yet. In the notification, AYUSH Ministry had also asked Patanjali to submit details of the medicine such as name and composition, research study details, Institutional Ethics Committee clearance, CTRI registration and result data.
Patanjali’s claim
As the coronavirus outbreak rampaged through the country, Patanjali Ayurved, which is run by renowned Yoga guru Ramdev had launched an Ayurvedic medicine combination which claimed to cure the Wuhan originated Coronavirus disease within 3-7 days.
The Ayurveda based pharmaceutical company launched a kit containing ‘Coronil’ tablets, Swasri tablet and Anu oil, claiming that these ayurvedic medicines have shown up to 100 per cent favourable results during the clinical trials done in collaboration with NIMS, Jaipur.
