Baba Ramdev 'crossed red line' with false COVID cure claims, people believed him: IMA chief on confronting Patanjali

livemint.com:

20,000 doctors died after taking two doses of the COVID vaccine. And he was having such a high profile that, you know, people believed what he said. That was the unfortunate part of it," Asokan was quoted as saying.

When asked what made the IMA take on Ramdev despite him being a big name and politically connected, Asokan said, "He crossed a red line." "We have been tolerating mediocracy in this country for too long. Our profession also has been tolerating this and we never wanted to prove anything to anyone. He crossed a line when he advertised about Coronil (a Patanjali tablet) and said the WHO had approved it, which was a wrong statement," Asokan said.

"Our leadership thought he has to be challenged. It was in 2022 and we had to channelise it through the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act. What has happened in the Supreme Court is two-three years of hard work," he said.

Asokan said the IMA is not against traditional systems of medicine. "We have lived with them all these decades. We respect each other.

But somehow, some sections of society thought we were anti-traditional systems and, as for the public apology, it was to the Supreme Court. And it's more about the contempt of the court than the substance of the thing," he added. Asokan said the court has not said its final verdict.

"We need to wait. Whether we are satisfied or not will depend on the verdict. It's not about the apology that he has given, it is for the court to tell us whether he crossed the line by abusing modern medicine," he stated.

According to Asokan, the IMA is constantly briefing its members on the ethics and principles and the way to change. "Ethics after all changes with time and space. Today what you perceive as right