Most of the 14 Patanjali Ayurved products, banned from being sold after their manufacturing licenses were suspended in April, are available to customers at its franchise stores across the national capital and several other states, an investigation by NDTV has found.

On Thursday, NDTV’s teams visited multiple stores in Delhi, Patna and Dehradun with hidden cameras and found that many of these 14 products were readily available to purchase.

Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, founded by yoga guru Ramdev, had informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the company has stopped the sale of the 14 products and issued instructions to its 5,606 stores to withdraw these products.

It also said media platforms have been asked to withdraw advertisements of these products. However, the reality on ground is different.

While visiting a Patanjali store in south Delhi’s Green Park, an NDTV reporter was able to buy Swasari Vati, that claims to heal respiratory illnesses, as well as Drishti eye drops, touted as an “eye tonic”. The shopkeeper also provided a receipt for the purchase.

Two other banned products, BP Grit for blood pressure and Madhugrit for diabetes, were also seen on display at the shop.

In a Patanjali store in Jangpura, the same products were available for purchase too. When questioned, the shopkeeper said that he has not been told to stop selling these products. Similarly, a store in Delhi’s Kalkaji sold NDTV eight of the 14 banned products including Livamrit Advance and Livogrit that claim to heal liver-related ailments.

Apart from Delhi, these products are also available in Patna as well as Dehradun. NDTV was able to buy 11 of the 14 products in Dehradun.

Currently, the Supreme Court is hearing a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleging a smear campaign by Patanjali against modern systems of medicine and offering alternative medicines of its own to heal common ailments.

The top court had on May 14 reserved its order on the contempt notice issued to Ramdev,his aide Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd in a misleading advertisements case.

These are the 14 Patanjali products whose manufacturing licenses have been cancelled:  Mukta Vati Extra Power, Lipidom, BP Grit, Livamrit Advance, Livogrit, Eyegrit Gold  Madhugrit, Swasari Gold, Swasari Vati, Bronchom, Swasari Pravahi, Swasari Avaleh, Madhunashini Vati Extra Power, and Patanjali Drishti Eye Drop.

Hyderabad:

A video of Baba Ramdev publicly praising Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been making rounds on social media.

Users sharing it claim the video is recent and attributed the praise to a changing political climate in the Opposition’s favour in the ensuing General Elections. In the video, Ramdev says Rahul Gandhi used to get little space in national media but now he is being discussed everywhere. He also praised Rahul’s fitness and the Gandhi family’s association with yoga since Nehru.

बाबा ने भी माहौल को देख के पलटी
मारना शुरू कर दिया pic.twitter.com/15TdGjeD3t

— काव्या AAP (@bindass_ladki) May 10, 2024

Recently, the Supreme Court reprimanded Patanjali founder Ramdev and his associate Acharya Balkrishna concerning misleading advertisements. As a result, they were required to issue a public apology in prominent newspapers for the deceptive promotion of Patanjali’s medicinal products.

Taking a jibe at Ramdev’s open endorsement of the prime minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government, an X user shared the video (Archive) and wrote, “Sensing the situation, Baba has started to flip to the other side.”

“Rahul Gandhi’s hard work is paying off – Baba Ramdev. Baba Ramdev is praising the Gandhi family! How did this change of heart happen….?” wrote another X user who shared the video (Archive).

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the video is from 2022 and is being falsely linked to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

We ran a relevant keyword search and found the video (Archive) posted by BV Srinivas, the national president of Youth Congress on September 16, 2022. Taking a dig at Baba Ramdev, Srinivas had said that his ‘sins would still not be washed away.’

We also found the video published by Live Hindustan’s YouTube channel and its website on September 17, 2022, which stated that Baba Ramdev praised Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Amar Ujala reported the video on September 17, 2022, stating after seeing the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which had started from Kanyakumari, Baba Ramdev praised Rahul Gandhi.

Hence, we conclude that an old video of Baba Ramdev praising Rahul Gandhi is being shared as recent. The claim that Ramdev has changed his tone sensing the change in the political climate in the Opposition’s favour is misleading.

(This story was originally published by NewsMeter, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective.)
 

Jodhpur:

The Rajasthan High Court has directed yoga guru Ramdevtoappearon October 5 at Barmer’s Chohtan police station for questioning in connection with an FIR against him for allegedly hurtingreligioussentiments, while extending the stayon his arrest.

The court directed Ramdevtoappearbefore the Investigating Officer as and when called by him and also directed the government counsel to produce the case diary in the court on October 16. It extended the stayonRamdev‘s arrest till then.

Justice Kuldeep Mathur gave these directions on Monday while hearing a criminal miscellaneous petition by Ramdev praying for the quashing of the FIR.

“The petitioner is directed toappearbefore the Investigating Officer for interrogation on  05.10.2023   at  11.30  am. The petitioner is further directed toappearbefore the Investigating Officer as and when called by him for interrogation”, the order said.

The court had stayed the arrest of  Ramdev during the previous hearing and directed him toappearbefore the investigating officer for interrogation on or before May 20. But he did not appearbefore the investigating officer.

The complaint was filed against the yoga guru at Chohtan police station in Barmer on February 5 by Pathai Khan for allegedly making remarks against Muslims at a religious event in Barmer on February 2.

Chohtan police had then booked him under the charges of inciting hatred and upsetting religioussentiments.

In his complaint, Khan alleged that Ramdev had made his remarks “deliberately… so that a spirit of animosity and hatred is formed against Islam” and that they had “hurt the feelings of crores of Muslims”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)