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Video Editor: Vivek Gupta
In a recent video that went viral on social media, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev was heard making fun of those gasping for breath and desperately looking for oxygen support. In the video, Baba Ramdev is seen mocking and belittling the thousands of victims of the deadly second wave of COVID-19 in India, who are battling for their life in ICUs, on ventilators, on oxygen support, and those who lost their battle against the virus.
"People are looking for cylinders outside while God has given you two cylinders right here inside you," he said while referring to one's lungs. "Use them, fool!" he added.
Not only did Baba Ramdev make unscientific claims, he also downplayed the severity of the current COVID crisis in the country, in terms of shortage of hospital beds, oxygen, medicines, and crematoriums.
However, it’s not the first instance of insensitivity from Baba Ramdev amid a raging pandemic.
In April 2020, he claimed that snorting mustard oil will destroy the novel coronavirus. He also suggested self-diagnosis methods, which were all later refuted by verified sources.
In June 2020, he launched ‘Coronil’, claiming it was a 100% cure for COVID-19, which was also later proven to be misleading. Coronil was launched without the nod of the Ayush Ministry and was later, released as an ‘immunity booster’. This year, he re-launched Coronil, in the presence of Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan. It was said to be ‘WHO-certified’, a claim that was later taken back.
Baba Ramdev is not alone... Recently, actor Kangana Ranaut announced that she has tested positive for COVID-19 on her Instagram account. She wrote that she was feeling tired since the past few days, and upon being tested, she found out that she had contracted the virus.
But what got netizens irked and put her at the centre of criticism was her remark calling COVID-19 a ‘small-time flu’. “COVID-19 is nothing but 'a small-time flu that got too much press and is now psyching few people. If you are scared, the virus will scare you more,” she posted on Instagram.
For people like Baba Ramdev and Kangana Ranaut who belittle a deadly virus that has killed over 2.5 lakh Indians, who mock and ridicule fellow citizens gasping for oxygen, here are some big questions:
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
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