PANAJI: Congress on Monday claimed that the Union Ayush ministry, headed by North Goa MP Shripad Naik, is promoting drugs which have no scientific standing and which have been associated with many consumer complaints. The Ayush ministry, which received a budgetary allocation of Rs 1,739 crore for 2019-20, is wasting money on advertising ‘unscientific’ medicines produced with ‘major inadequacies’, the party alleged.
Two anti-diabetic drugs the ministry is promoting, were denounced by research institutes and scientists, Congress media convenor Trajano D’Mello told reporters. “The ministry is projecting two anti-diabetic drugs, AYUSH-82 and BGR-34, but scientists in the country have concluded that the ministry’s claims, that the drugs have no side effects, is bogus. It’s claim that BGR-34 is the cheapest anti-diabetic drug in the market is also false,” D’Mello said.
Formed in 2014, the Ayush ministry has helped develop alternative drugs and also worked ‘to promote benefits and cost-effectiveness that gave an impression’ that the drugs are ‘miraculous’. Congress, however, claims that neither have the drugs been scientifically tested in a controlled environment, nor subjected to rigorous clinical tries to prove their effectiveness. “The National Institute of Malaria Research has found major inadequacies in studies conducted on AYUSH-64 for malaria. The institute has voiced its reservation against the medicine,” D’Mello said.