Ramdev sparked several controversies related to COVID-19 pandemic in India. In June 2020, he claimed that one can treat coronavirus by pouring mustard oil through the nose, making the virus flowing into the stomach, resulting in its ultimate death by the acid present in the stomach. He also claimed that if a person holds his breath for a minute, it means s/he is not suffering from any type of coronavirus, symptomatic or asymptomatic. Both these claims were found to be false. In May 2021, he blamed Covid victims for not breathing properly and instead spreading negativity and complaining of oxygen shortage. He later spoke against allopathy and claimed that modern medical science is a stupid science and that lakhs of patients have died due to it. The controversies attracted criticism.

Coronil

In June 2020, Patanjali launched Coronil and Swasari, which they claimed provided an Ayurvedic treatment for the COVID-19.[97][98] Hours later, the central ministry of AYUSH released a statement asking Ramdev to stop advertising the drug as a cure for COVID-19.[99] The day after the launch, a criminal complaint was filed against Ramdev and his aide Balkrishna in a Muzaffarpur court by a social worker for misleading and putting to risk the lives of a large number of people.[100][101] Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh banned the sale of Coronil in the state, saying that the state will not allow the sale of ‘spurious medicine’.[102][103] Subsequently, Coronil was allowed to be sold after AYUSH Ministry called it an immunity booster drug which can be used for Covid-19 management.[104]

He claimed that one can treat coronavirus by pouring mustard oil through the nose, making the virus flowing into the stomach, resulting in its ultimate death by the acid present in the stomach. He also claimed that if a person holds his breath for a minute, it means s/he is not suffering from any type of coronavirus, symptomatic or asymptomatic. Both these claims were found to be false.[105][106]

In February 2021, during Coronil’s launch event attended by Health Minister Dr. Harsha Vardhan and Nitin Gadkari, Patanjali claimed that Coronil was WHO approved. A poster was put behind the stage which stated it holds a Certificate of pharmaceutical product (CPP) and is recognised by the WHO’s Good manufacturing practice (GMP) guidelines. Patanjali branded the product as the first evidence-based medicine for Covid. However WHO’s official Twitter handle for Southeast Asia confirmed that it has not approved any traditional medicine for COVID-19 treatment.[107]

In late May 2021, the Haryana’s Health Minister Anil Vij announced in a tweet that the state government of Haryana would distribute 100,000 kits of Coronil among Covid patients for free of cost. The kit includes Coronil tablets, Swasari Vati and Anu Taila. He also mentioned that half of the cost would be borne by Patanjali and the remaining half by the government from the COVID Relief Fund.[108]

Victim blaming

In early May 2021, he blamed Covid victims for not breathing properly and instead spreading negativity and complaining of oxygen shortage.[109] Subsequently, Indian Medical Association (IMA) national vice-president Dr. Navjot Singh Dahiya filed a police complaint against Ramdev for allegedly creating panic regarding the treatment of Covid-19 patients by creating wrong perception and using defamatory and insulting language towards the doctors.[110][111]

Comments against modern medicine

In late May 2021, he sparked controversy when he claimed that modern medical science is a stupid science and that lakhs of patients have died due to it. As a result the IMA claimed that he is repeatedly taking advantage of the situation and creating fear and frustration among the public to sell his drugs. They also demanded that Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, who himself is a practicing modern medicine allopathic postgraduate, either accept the challenge and accusation and dissolve the modern medical facility or boldly face and prosecute him under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 to save millions of people from such unscientific utterances.[112][113] The Delhi Medical Association demanded an FIR against him.[114]

Later, Patanjali clarified that he has no ill-will against modern science and good practitioners of modern medicine and that he was reading a forwarded WhatsApp message.[115] Following a prompt from the Health Minister, he withdrew his comments and issued an apology on Twitter.[116]

Following the withdrawal, he posted 25 questions to IMA in an ‘open letter’ on his Twitter handle. He asked if allopathy and the pharma industry has treatments for diseases like hypertension, diabetes, thyroid, arthritis, colitis, asthma, chicken pox among others. He courted sharp criticism from the medical community when he claimed that “Doctors should not fall ill at all if allopathy is all powerful and ‘sarvagun sampanna’ (having all good qualities)”.[117] IMA’s Uttarakhand division has sent a ₹1,000 crore (US$140 million) defamation notice, which says that if Ramdev does not post another video countering his early statement and post a written apology within the next 15 days, the organization would demand the sum.[118] In a new video, he was seen reacting to the demand of his arrest saying “even their father cannot arrest him”.[119]

Balkrishna, co-founder of Patanjali Ayurved, has come to Ramdev’s defence and accused in a tweet that IMA’s president is conspiring to convert India to Christianity and that Yoga and Ayurveda are being maligned by targeting Ramdev. The post has since attracted criticism from several people including doctors.[120]

On 27 May 2021, IMA filed a police complaint against Ramdev over his dishonest and wrongful representations on allopathy. In the complaint, it said Ramdev has “wilfully and deliberately spread false, baseless and malicious information” about treatment of Covid patients by established and approved methods and drugs.[121]

During a yoga camp at Yog Gram in Haridwar, Ramdev said several allopathy practitioners with MBBS and MD degrees were facing the side-effects of allopathy and are now turning towards yoga and ayurveda and were attending his camp. He said his target would be to convert 1000 doctors to ayurveda within one year. He said that he is not aiming at religious conversions like the IMA’s president does, but looking for a transformation of their beliefs.

He questioned the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines and claimed that fatalities caused by Covid showed that allopathy was not 100% effective. He stated that he opted out of vaccination as he had been practicing yoga and ayurveda for decades and thus he didn’t feel the need to be vaccinated. He said that ayurveda would be globally accepted in time.