IMA vs Ramdev, again: Medical body sends defamation notice to yoga guru

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has served a defamation notice on Ramdev for alleged disparaging remarks against allopathy and allopathic doctors, demanding an apology from him within 15 days, failing which it said it will demand compensation of Rs 1,000 crore from the yoga guru.

The yoga guru had said that the allopathy field of medicine “stupid and diwaliya”, causing a furore. Union Minister Harsh Vardhan issued a statement, calling the remarks “disrespect the corona warriors and hurt the sentiments of the country.”

Following this, Ramdev withdrew his statement and said he regretted this controversy.

Now, a six-page notice served on behalf of IMA (Uttarakhand) secretary Ajay Khanna by his lawyer Neeraj Pandey described the remarks by Ramdev as damaging to the reputation and the image of allopathy and around 2,000 practitioners of it who are part of the association.

Terming the remarks of the yoga guru a “criminal act” under section of 499 of the Indian Penal Code, the notice demanded a written apology from him within 15 days of its receipt, or else a compensation of Rs 1,000 crore will be demanded from him at the rate of Rs 50 lakh per member of the IMA.

The notice has also asked Ramdev to make a video clip contradicting all his false and defamatory allegations, and circulate it on all social media platforms.

It has also asked the yoga guru to withdraw a “misleading” advertisement from all platforms endorsing “Coronil kit”, a product of his firm, as an effective medicine for COVID-19, failing which an FIR and a criminal case will be lodged against him by the IMA.