Uproar in Harayana Assembly over Baba Ramdev issue

Chandigarh, Mar 12: Haryana Assembly today witnessed uproarious scenes as the BJP government came under sharp attack from opposition Congress for allegedly "going out of way to please Baba Ramdev by making him the brand ambassador" for promotion of Yoga and Ayurveda in the state.

Sharp exchanges were witnessed between the ruling benches and the Congress members when opposition MLA from Palwal, Karan Singh Dalal, raised the issue during a discussion on the Governor's address in the ongoing Budget session.

During his speech, Dalal while quoting a report published in a leading English daily last month, said that while on one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chosen Haryana to launch his ambitious plan for protection of girls, on the other hand pharmacies allegedly owned by the state's brand ambassador, Baba Ramdev, were selling "medicines" which claim to help women give birth to sons.

This enraged BJP members who got up on their feet and strongly defended Ramdev, asking the Congress MLA to get his facts right. Health Minister Anil Vij intervened while Dalal was speaking and said that while it was true that Baba Ramdev had been made the state's brand ambassador to promote Yoga and Ayurveda, there was no truth in the allegation that his pharmacies were selling such medicines.

Vij said after the report's publication, he looked into the matter and it was revealed that the "Putrajeevak" medicines being sold were "fertility medicines and not ones which claim to guarantee birth of a son after taking these".

However, heated exchanges continued between the ruling and opposition benches, with Dalal questioning the need to make Ramdev state's brand ambassador and alleged that the BJP was "going out of way to please Baba Ramdev by making him the ambassador for promotion of Yoga and Ayurveda in the state."

Dalal also targeted Vij over his bachelor status, prompting the Minister to hit back at him and pointed to a snake's image on tapestry on the walls of the Assembly, asking the Congress leader to be at least scared of the reptile.

PTI