Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that he pitied the ‘intellect’ of those doctors who were protesting against the government notification that enables post-graduate Ayurveda surgery students to study, practice modern medicine and surgical procedures.

“It surprises me that a few days back few doctors protested the move to enable Ayurveda postgraduates to learn modern medicine surgery. I pity their intellect. Ayurveda has given the method of surgery and also the first surgeon ever,” Yogi Adityanth was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has opposed and protested against the November 19 notification that allows Ayurveda doctors to carry out 58 kinds of surgical procedures, questioning the competence of these practitioners to conduct them.

The Ayurveda courses offer two branches of surgery — Shalya Tantra or general surgery, and Shalakya Tantra ore surgeries of the eyes, ears, nose, throat and teeth. All postgraduate students of Ayurveda study these courses those who specialise in these become Ayurveda surgeons.

The notification mentions 58 surgical procedures that postgraduate students must train themselves in, and acquire skills to perform independently. These include procedures in general surgery, urology, surgical gastroenterology, and ophthalmology.

While allopathic doctors say that Ayurveda doctors are not fully equipped to carry out these surgeries, those associated with the ancient stream of treatment say that the government notification only formalises what is the practise.

“The surgeries that have been mentioned in the notification are all that are already part of the Ayurveda course. But there is little awareness about these. A patient is usually not clear whether an Ayurvedic practitioner has the necessary skill to perform one of these operations. Now, they know exactly what an Ayurveda doctor is capable of. The skill sets have been defined. This will remove question marks on the ability of an Ayurveda practitioner,” Hemantha Kumar of the Jaipur-based National Institute of Ayurveda told indianexpress.com.