The government on Wednesday said that Patanjali can sell its drug Coronil as an immunity booster, but not as a cure for COVID-19. The statement from the Union AYUSH ministry came days after yoga guru Ramdev’s company launched the medicine claiming that it was effective in managing the coronavirus. “AYUSH Ministry has only given permission to sell this particular formulation as immunity booster and not as a medicinal cure for COVID-19,” PTI quoted the Ayush ministry as saying.

Patanjali though claimed that there was no disagreement between them and the government. The company claimed that the AYUSH ministry had allowed them to sell the ayurvedic drug. In its statement issued on Wednesday, the company claimed that the government had ‘categorically agreed’ that Patanjali had ‘appropriately worked’ on managing the disease.

While launching Coronil on June 23, the company said that the medicine had shown 100% results during their trials. Patanjali also said that they had taken all necessary approvals before conducting the trials.

The claims made by Ramdev’s company have been questioned by a number of authorities. In Uttarakhand, the state licensing authority, ayurvedic and unani services department, said that Patanjali had been given a licence only to manufacture an immunity booster.

Patanjali had used the Uttarakhand department’s name to claim that they had been allowed to manufacture and distribute the tablets Divya Coronil, Divya Swasarivati and Divya Anu Talia across India.

Uttarakhand Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice RC Khulbe issued notices to Patanjali, the Centre, the state government and other agencies, seeking their reply over a PIL accusing the firm of misleading people with its claim.

The notices also went to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), the private Jaipur-based institute which Patanjali said had collaborated with it on drug trials.

Ramdev hit back at all those questioning the efficacy of the drug, saying that some people are hurt by the “rise of Indian culture”. The yoga guru claimed that the multinational allopathic drug corporations felt threatened when an ayurvedic medicine was introduced in the market by Patanjali.