Govt must act on false claims by Patanjali

The government must take note of the high court’s observations and ensure no erroneous claims are allowed to undermine important public health programmes such as administering vaccines

The Delhi high court (HC) came down sharply on Patanjali Ayurved and its founder, yoga exponent Ramdev, in a case involving the company’s controversial product Coronil this week. On a petition by some doctors alleging that the company was misleading consumers on the efficacy of vaccines and allopathic treatment of Covid-19, the HC asked Ramdev to desist from making unsubstantiated claims while speaking in favour of Coronil. The HC is right. The pandemic is not behind us, and to undermine public health interventions for narrow business interests — and Ramdev’s exhortations are little more than advert-isements for products made by his company — can only be allowed at dire costs to the nation. Since Coronil was launched in the summer of 2020, Patanjali has attracted criticism and censure in equal measure for pushing the product aggressively.

The pandemic is not behind us, and to undermine public health interventions for narrow business interests – and Ramdev’s exhortations are little more than advertisements for products made by his company – can only be allowed at dire costs to the nation. (PTI)

Ayurveda and traditional medical knowledge systems are important and have their own place in the medical and wellness ecosystem. But overblown claims about them replacing proven, evidence-based allopathic medical treatments are irrespon-sible and damage the reputation of these knowle-dge systems. Rational decision-making based on sound scientific evidence is crucial at any point of policymaking, but even more so in the middle of a pandemic when millions of lives are at stake. The government must take note of the HC’s observations and ensure no erroneous claims are allowed to undermine important public health programmes such as administering vaccines.