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| - Fact Check: Did Muslim members in AYUSH ministry conspire against Baba Ramdev's Coronil?
A viral post on Facebook and Twitter claims that the AYUSH ministry imposed restrictions on Coronil because the "scientific panel" that approves drugs has six Muslims. India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the viral claim is false.
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India Today Fact Check
Licenses to ayurvedic medicines are granted by state AYUSH departments. Names circulated in viral list are associated with the ministry's Unani department.
Ever since the AYUSH ministry imposed restrictions on the sale and promotion of Coronil, an "anti-Covid drug" manufactured by Baba Ramdev's Patanjali, social media has been rife with speculations regarding its human trial, and possible grounds for rejection.
But is it true that certain Muslim members of the AYUSH ministry intentionally targeted Coronil with some sinister motive in mind? At least this is what is being claimed on various social media sites. A viral post on Facebook and Twitter claims that the AYUSH ministry imposed restrictions on Coronil because the "scientific panel" that approves drugs has six Muslims.
The post is also viral on Twitter with claims of "system jihad". The post in Hindi translates to, "Read the names of the top six scientists in AYUSH ministry responsible for research & approval of drugs: Asim Khan, Munawar Kazmi, Khadeerun Nisa, Maqbool Ahmad Khan, Asiya Khanum, Shagufta Parveen. Now you can understand why restrictions were imposed on Baba Ramdev's drug Coronil. Isn't this system jihad?"
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the viral claim is false. The names mentioned in the post are not related to any panel that issues license to ayurvedic drugs.
In fact, all these names have been copied from the Unani medicine department's website. Also, licenses to ayurvedic medicines are issued by the AYUSH departments of respective states.
The archived version of the viral tweet can be seen here. The post is also viral on WhatsApp and Facebook.
AFWA probe
We did not find any mention of a "scientific panel" in AYUSH ministry which is responsible for issuing drug licenses as claimed in the viral post. However, we did find mention of a "state medicine license officer" who is responsible for issuing drug permits to labs and renewing them as and when required.
Detailed information regarding this can be seen here.
Padma Shri awardee and president of All India Ayurvedic Congress, Devendra Triguna, told AFWA, "At present, AYUSH departments in respective state governments issue licenses to ayurvedic medicines."
Uttarakhand ayurved department license officer YS Rawat had also stated that his department had issued a license to Patanjali for manufacturing medicines to cure cough and fever, along with immunity booster kits. He had said that there was no mention of a Covid-19 cure in the application by Baba Ramdev's company. Nor was the company issued a license for anti-Covid drugs.
We then searched for names in the viral post to ascertain their identity. The ministry of AYUSH has several specialised departments (https://main.ayush.gov.in/about-us/list-organisations) under it. A search reveals that Asim Ali Khan is the director general of the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM).
A visit to the Unani medicine department's website further reveals that all the names in the viral post can be found here, in exactly the same order.
Therefore, it is clear that the viral claim of a "scientific panel" comprising Muslims rejecting Coronil is false. All the names in the viral post are associated the AYUSH ministry's Unani medicine department.
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