Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu’s claim that his wife beat Stage 4 cancer with the help of certain traditional remedies seems to have landed the cricketer turned politician in trouble. The Chhattisgarh Civil Society (CCS) has served an Rs 850 crore notice to Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu over her husband’s claims, said a report by Business Standard.
Sidhu in a recent press conference had claimed that his wife was cured of cancer due to a strict diet plan that encompassed traditional Indian wisdom and Ayurvedic practices.
‘Such claims dangerous for other cancer patients’
According to the BS report, CCS convenor Kuldeep Solanki has called out the “false claims” of Sidhu while asserting that such statements create a negative impression about allopathic medicine and therapy and discourage people from seeking medical help.
“False claims like these are confusing people and making them think negatively about allopathic medicine and therapy. Even cancer patients are being forced to stop taking their medication, which has raised their danger of dying,” he said.
Solanki said he would take legal action against Kaur if she fails to produce proof to substantiate her husband’s claims within seven days.
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Stating that false statements on health and wellness are endangering the health of other patients, Solanki has demanded Kaur to call a press conference to clarify Sidhu’s statements.
What did Sidhu say?
During a press conference in Amritsar on November 21, Sidhu had stated that his wife had been declared cancer-free, emphasising the role of dietary and lifestyle changes in her recovery.
Sidhu’s claim had riled up oncologists, who had warned that cancer patients should not delay or stop their treatment by following unproven remedies.
On November 23, Dr C S Pramesh, Director of Tata Memorial Hospital, posted a video of Sidhu’s press conference on X and said, “Parts of the video imply that starving cancer by avoiding dairy products and sugar, and consuming haldi (turmeric) and neem, helped cure her ‘incurable’ cancer.”
“Please don’t believe or be fooled by these statements, regardless of who they come from. These are unscientific and baseless recommendations. It was surgery and chemotherapy, which are evidence-based treatments, that made her cancer-free, not haldi, neem, or other such remedies,” he said.
Sidhu issues clarification
Responding to the criticisms, the Congress leader on Monday (November 25) clarified that his wife’s diet plan was implemented in consultation with doctors and should be considered “facilitation in the treatment”.
In a video message posted on XSidhu said, “I want to say that a doctor is like God to me, and doctors have always been my priority. I have a doctor (Navjot Kaur Sidhu) at home. Whatever we have done was done with the consultation of doctors in a collaborative process.”
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He also shared the diet plan and wrote, “My wife’s cancer journey involved surgeries, chemotherapy, hormonal and targeted therapy, positivity and determination to fight cancer which was facilitated by a strict diet plan inspired by Indian Ayurveda, the nobel prize winning research of Yoshinori Ohsumi for discoveries of the mechanisms autophagy and observation of eminent doctors worldwide.”
Row over Ayurvedic diet
The diet chart included lemon water, turmeric, apple cider vinegar, walnuts, juice made from beetroot, carrot, and amla, among other items. She also consumed neem leaves, but sugar, dairy products and wheat were removed from her diet, he said. Sidhu also mentioned that his wife was given water with a pH level of seven.
Sidhu quoted an old saying — ‘jaisa ann, waisa mann, waisa tann’ (as is the food, so is the mind and body), and added, “Consider this diet chart as facilitation in the treatment.” mother used to say ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the whole world is my family). We want to share the benefits we receive with everyone,” he said.
Speaking about her experience, Navjot Kaur Sidhu said it was difficult for her to follow the diet initially but she stated to feel good after a few days.
“I began losing weight, and the swelling started reducing. I have lost 30 kg. Somewhere, the Ayurvedic diet benefitted me a lot,” she said.
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