Ramdev rebuts allegations on 'Putrajeevak Beej', but will add disclaimer

New Delhi: A day after opposition MPs demanded a ban on a medicine from his pharmacy, yoga guru Ramdev on Friday rebutted allegations that it was being sold for conceiving a male child and claimed that he was being targeted through "lies" to defame the Prime Minister.

However, he said a disclaimer will be added on the package of the medicine 'Putrajeevak Beej' that it does not promise a male child and claimed it is named so after the scientific name of the herb 'Putranjiva roxburghii Wall'.

"MPs who have no clue about Ayurveda should be ashamed and should apologise to the nation. The medicine (pack) does not say anywhere that it helps in producing a son," he told a press conference in New Delhi, and demanded an apology from JD(U) MP KC Tyagi, who raised the issue in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, accusing him of resorting to "lies".

The yoga guru, who has courted several controversies in the past, also took a jibe at Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan saying she was demanding a ban on his pharmacy products as she was "not getting any opportunity to act in movies these days".

"The name has simply been derived from its scientific name 'Putranjiva roxburghii Wall' and has got nothing to do with the promise of a son. Lying in the Parliament is a national crime," he said.

Calling himself a "fakir" (ascetic), Ramdev, who had openly supported Narendra Modi's prime ministerial campaign, repeatedly invoked the Prime Minister's name and said not only he but the PM was being "unfairly" targeted through these "falsehoods".

"On one hand there is the fakir and on the other hand there is the wazir. It's being said that when the Prime Minister is saying 'Beti Bachao', his closest man is saying 'Beta Badhao'. Essentially insult the fakir and and tarnish the wazir's name is the method," he said.

According to Ramdev, the opposition was latching onto every issue to target Modi, who, he said was focusing on developing the manufacturing sector as well agriculture.

"While Modi is trying to find a balance between the two, the Opposition wants him to fail on both the fronts. He should be given time," he said, evading a direct reply on the Land Acquisition Bill.

On Thursday, opposition MPs led by KC Tyagi in the Rajya Sabha demanded a ban on the product and had sought stringent action against the manufacturer.

Ramdev was recently made Haryana's brand ambassador by the BJP government there.