New Delhi

The Indian Medical Association on Wednesday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take appropriate action under sedition and other charges against Baba Ramdev for allegedly "spearheading a misinformation campaign on COVID vaccination".

"The Indian Medical Association is proactively spearheading your commitment to enforcing vaccination to all above 18 years as the tool to overcome the corona pandemic. When you initiated the vaccine rollout, IMA leaders across the country stood first to get the vaccine and by this dispelled the vaccine hesitancy. With the sincere efforts of the Government and the modern medical healthcare professional India could vaccinate nearly 20 crore people, one of the fastest vaccination drives in the world. We laud your motive to augment the indoor production of more vaccines and approval of vaccines from other countries to be used in our country," wrote IMA in its letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

IMA lauded the Prime Minister for his effort to address the importance of vaccination in all public addresses. It appealed to Prime Minister Modi to give motivation for vaccination in the forthcoming "Mann Ki Baat" episodes.

"At this juncture, we are pained to bring to your kind notice, two videos where Ramdev, owner of Patanjali Ayurved, 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 the treatment of COVID-19 related symptoms. These videos are circulating virally on social media," IMA claimed.

IMA said its members 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. If someone is claiming that allopathic medicine has killed people, 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 centres. 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," IMA said.

IMA informed that in the 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.

IMA alleged that people like Baba Ramdev by making false statements are spreading rumours and creating hesitations or superstitions in the minds of the common man thereby discouraging them from getting vaccinated.

"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," said the doctors' body.

IMA said the reports where the frontline workers including ASHA workers who have been tasked with carrying out the vaccination drives, had been assaulted and attacked by people who have fallen for false and misleading assertions by Baba Ramdev. "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 Ramdev who enjoy huge public following and are able to brainwash the layman," it said.

"We appeal to you to take appropriate action against all individuals including 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," it added.

IMA further alleged Baba Ramdev's only objective 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 that have disturbed and are likely to further disturb public tranquillity.

According to IMA, 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 appealed.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Saturday sent a legal notice to yoga guru Baba Ramdev over his alleged statements against allopathy and "defaming" scientific medicine. However, the Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust has denied allegations by the IMA that Ramdev has misled people by making "unlearned" statements against allopathy and defamed scientific medicine.

"IMA brings to the notice of our Health Minister, a video circulating in social media portraying, the celebrated Yoga Guruji saying that 'modern allopathy ek aisi stupid aur diwaliya science hai' (modern allopathy is a stupid and failed science)," the association said in its statement.

On Sunday, Baba Ramdev withdrew his statements on allopathic medicine after receiving a strong-worded letter from Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan who called his remarks "inappropriate".

"We do not oppose modern medical science and allopathy. We believe that allopathy has shown immense progress in surgery and the lifesaving system and served humanity. My statement has been quoted as part of a WhatsApp message that I was reading during a meeting of volunteers. I am sorry if it has hurt anyone's sentiment," wrote Ramdev in his letter to the Union Health Minister in Hindi.

According to a Haridwar-based Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust statement, Yog Guru Ramdev was reading out a WhatsApp forwarded message in the video that has gone viral on social media.