In the face of an uproar in the Rajya Sabha over a “son-guaranteeing” medicine, Putrajivak Beej, being sold by yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s pharmacy, the government on Friday agreed to look into the issue and see how the “ayurvedic medicine” was issued a licence.
Soon after the issue was raised in the Upper House, Baba Ramdev tweeted that “Putrajivak” was a “classical ayurvedic name and deals with fertility issues and not gender selection.”
Janata Dal (United) member K.C. Tyagi, who flagged the matter, wanted to know how a person selling such a product could be made the brand ambassador of Haryana, where the Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao scheme was launched by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
He did not refer to the yoga guru by name, but described him as the brand ambassador of the Haryana government which had offered him Cabinet rank.
Mr. Tyagi came to the House with a packet of the medicine made by Divya Pharmacy and a receipt for the purchase made on April 14.
Several members of the Opposition joined Mr. Tyagi in demanding an inquiry and action against the pharmacy.
‘Ban the company’
Samajwadi Party member Jaya Bachchan demanded that the product be removed from the market and the company banned, While Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad demanded action against those responsible, Sitaram Yechury of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was of the view that this was not just an issue of gender-bias but also one of spreading obscurantism, which was against scientific temper.
Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said the sale of the product must be stopped pending inquiry.
