Janarogya Prasthanam activists staging a protest in front of the Secretariat on Monday B P Deepu
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:The arrest of Jacob Vadakkanchery points at the state government’s intolerance towards dissenting voices, said social rights activist Philip M Prasad. The capital witnessed a dharna for the right to freedom of expression on Monday. “ The only thing Jacob did was telling the public about the harmful effects of ‘doxycycline’, which is already printed in Consumer Drug Reference book,” Philip M Prasad pointed out.
The dharna was organised in front of the secretariat against the arrest of naturopath Jacob Vadakkanchery on Monday. It also raised the issue of supply of ‘doxycycline’ tablets without prescription. Various organisations including People’s Health Movement, Gandhi Peace Foundation, Government of India Certified Senior Naturopaths’ Association, Western Ghats Protection Movement and Swasthya Kerala came together to register their dissent. Jacob Vadakkanchery was arrested for campaigning against the government’s medical programme to prevent leptospirosis. He was arrested on the basis of a complaint by Health minister K K Shailaja. It is undemocratic to arrest a person for raising an issue, opined T Peter, general secretary of National Fishworkers Forum.
Sreekantan Nair, director, Integral Psycho-Yoga and Holistic Health Association Trivandrum pointed at the tussle between Indian Medical Association and homeopathy, where IMA Kerala wrote to Prime Minister for banning the latter. “In a democracy, people have every right to choose the various system of medicines. And we shouldn’t encourage the monopoly of a single system.”
Philip M Prasad said that enough studies have already proved that ‘doxycycline’ has many side effects which are conveniently ignored by the authorities.“The government is protecting the interest of medical companies by sidelining other streams of medicines by Homeopathy and Ayurveda,” he alleged.
