AIDS may not be a viral disease, : Swami Ramdev

January 1, 2007

Press Conference of Swami Ramdev at Hotel Swosti Plaza, Bhubaneswar,on 01.01.2007, 16:30 hours.

Report by: Jagannath Chatterjee

Swami Ramdev was at his controversial best when he presented himself for the Press Conference in Hotel Swosti Plaza at Bhubaneswar on 01.01.2007, evening 16:30 hours.

The Swami had no special aura around him, a frail ordinary figure, but he spoke with emphasis and a lot of confidence.

He apprised the journalists present about how he has converted yogic exercises from contortions that only the adept could practice to easily performed exercises that benefitted the common man.

He pointed out that India spent 5.15 lakh crores on health and yet healthcare was beyond 65% of the suffering multitude. He said he was happy that his yoga costs nothing, being freely available in direct to home TV, and was available to the poorest of the poor. His personal coaching, at huge camps, is at a cost but even there there is provision for free passes for those who cannot afford it.

He was unhappy at how the Indian government was targetting him for daring to declare that he could cure diseases. Swami Ramdev said he was not committing any crime but only making public his findings from the research laboratories that he had set up at his base camp, Haridwar. He said just because prevalent medicine could not cure diseases did not mean that others could not do so.

He informed that he had cured many forms of cancer and that he had increased the CD4 count in AIDS patients from 19 to 400, the normal CD count being 500. If this is not a sign of cure then what is, questioned the Swami. The doctors in the Health Ministry were aware of his achievements, said the Swami, because they had seen and supervised them.

Criticising the one sided health emphasis, the Swami declared that the Health Ministry should be renamed the Allopathic Ministry and the Health Minister the Allopathic Minister. He said he was not against allopathy but it was useful only in emergency situations, where it would continue to be useful. But treating diseases was an entirely different thing, he said, thus indicating that he was better equipped to handle them.

He was very critical of the way he was being treated. He lamented that whereas the government should encourage him and ask him to share his knowledge, the Health Minister was trying to suppress him with uncalled for comments. Let them do their job and let me do mine, was the Swami's rejoinder.

Regarding AIDS, the Swami pointed out that it was not yet confirmed that the HIV caused AIDS. There is a lot of confusion on the issue which is a hot debate all over the world, he said. He refused to speak on the matter of vaccines saying he did not want to comment on the topic. This reporter handed over his article on vaccines to the Swami which he acknowledged with a smile.

He signed off by saying that he was sure the people of Bhubaneswar would benefit from his yoga camp and cure themselves of whatever they suffered from. At least I will lighten the load of Bhubaneswar by 1 lakh kg's he said, referring to the number of obese people who would cut their flab at the camp.

Replying to whether he would set up any facility at Bhubaneswar the Swami said he was trying to expand to all corners of the country but it would take time. He said 250 of his trained yoga teachers were already working in the city.

Denying that he was joining politics, the Swami dodged a question on the hanging of Saddam Hussein saying that he was too controversial in his own work and did not want to add to it by commenting on such issues.He said he was extremely happy that his camp will be fully attended for the three days, both morning and evening.

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