Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal launches 'Bhabhi Ji Papad', claims it has antibodies to fight coronavirus

Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal drew the ire of social media on Friday after a promotional video went viral where he reportedly claimed that consuming a certain brand of papad would help a person produce antibodies to fight the novel coronavirus.

"Under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat campaign, a papad manufacturer has come up with a brand of crisps called Bhabhi Ji papad. It will help in the formation of antibodies that are required to fight coronavirus. We congratulate this firm for coming up with this initiative under the Atmanirbhar India campaign," a report in Business Today quoted the Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and of Parliamentary Affairs as saying.

As per a report by India Today, as soon as the video surfaced on social media platforms, it went viral. Reports also said that the minister has been criticised for making misleading and "unscientific claims" on coronavirus treatment.

The company which has manufactured the papad is from Bikaner in Rajasthan and claims that the edible product has gilloy and other immunity boosting ingredients.

Meanwhile, Meghwal's claims have also given fresh fodder to meme creators on social media. Here is how some people reacted to the minister’s claim on social media.

This is not the first time that any political leader has made such claims. Accoridng to one News18 article, Indian politicians have come with several bizarre claims have been made in the past. For example, Assam BJP MLA Suman Haripriya recently suggested spraying gaumutra (cow urine) to kill coronavirus, whereas, Swami Chakrapani, the National President of All India Hindu Mahasabha, had termed the virus as a punishment to non-vegetarians and was quoted as saying that "Indians who 'worship Gods' and are 'believers of Gau Rakshak' are immune to this disease".

According to a report by Bangalore Mirror, Ravichandra Gatti, a Congress councillor from Karnataka, had claimed that drinking rum and eating half-fried omelettes can help in fighting coronavirus.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the country, several immunity boosting products started marketing themselves with claims of preventing people from falling prey to the deadly virus.

India has so far reported over 12 lakh eighty-seven thousand cases of COVID-19. The virus has claimed lives of more than 30,000 people in the country.
Scientists and researchers across the world are working on developing the vaccine to cure Covid-19.