Famed spiritual and yoga guru Swami Ramdev may be in the dock if the allegations levelled against him by firebrand CPM leader and Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat, wife of party general secretary Prakash Karat, are proved to be true.
NEW DELHI: It’s a gory story. A spiritual guru sells herbal, ayurvedic medicines laced with human and animal parts. To be precise, human skulls and bones collected from graveyards and animal testicles to cure anything from common cold to cancer to erectile dysfunction.
And lakhs of vegetarians unknowingly consuming the forbidden medicine.
Famed spiritual and yoga guru Swami Ramdev may be in the dock if the allegations levelled against him by firebrand CPM leader and Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat, wife of party general secretary Prakash Karat, are proved to be true.
Karat’s allegations that Ramdev’s ashram is producing Ayurvedic medicine laced with human bones and animal products have been confirmed by the health ministry laboratory, which tested two samples of the medicine.
When Karat confronted the bearded, saffron-robed and muscular Swami with the charges, Ramdev, she said, wrote to her denying the allegations. “If there is a real communist, it’s me as I am also fighting the multinationals,” he wrote saying that some vested interests were trying to malign him.
Swami Ram Dev refuted the charges.. “The accusations being made against my ashram and its associated ayurvedic manufacturing unit are absolutely baseless, false and unfounded,” he asserted at a news conference in Lucknow.
Karat said tests found that he used “testicles of certain animals, dried and powdered to prepare medicine for impotency.” She said she came to know in June-July last year that herbal Ayurvedic medicine prepared by Divya Yog Pharmacy, Rishikesh, Uttranchal, owned by Ramdev, contained animal and human bones.
She said she bought two samples of the medicine and handed them over to the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani Siddha and Homeopathy (under the Ministry of Health) and “they have now confirmed our apprehension”. Karat produced a letter she received from the health ministry confirming her suspicion.
The letter No.2999/05-JS (Ayush), dated December from Shiv Basant, joint secretary, Ministry of Health, read: “Analysis reports of the samples given by you have since been received and prima facie examination reveal a violation of licensing and labelling provisions of the Indian Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
We, are, therefore, bringing them to the notice of Principal Secretary, Health, Government of Uttranchal, for further investigation and appropriate action under the licensing and labelling provisions of Chapter 4A of the Indian Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, by the State licensing authorities.”
Accusing the spiritual leader of “breaching the trust” reposed in him by his followers, the CPM leader asked Uttaranchal chief minister N D Tiwari to take “strict action” against Ramdev and others who are associated with ‘Divya Yog Pharmacy’ in Haridwar. She said if the Uttranchal government did not act, they “will think of the next step”.
Karat alleged that the Congress chief minister was patronising the guru and had even inaugurated a second pharmacy building of Ramdev in December.
“I have no problem with his (ND Tiwari’s) personal belief…but by using the popularity of television channels, he (Ramdev) is selling drugs which are adulterated. This is a huge breach of trust to his followers,” Karat said and accused Tiwari of helping the spiritual leader because of his “personal relations with him”.
Apart from allegedly dabbling in unethical medicines, Ramdev’s pharmacy has been violating labour laws as well.
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