Papad for antibodies? Union minister claims crisps can help fight coronavirus

Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that consuming papad would help one produce antibodies to fight coronavirus. He also congratulated the manufacturer for furthering the Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative. A video of Meghwal launching 'Bhabhi Ji' papads or crisps is doing the rounds on social media.

The Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, and of Parliamentary Affairs launched the crisps on Friday. "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," the minister can be seen saying in the video, holding a packet of crisps.

The company that has produced the crisps is based in Bikaner and claims that the product has gilloy and other immunity-boosting ingredients.

Twitter users have pointed out the minister's misleading and "unscientific claims". One user also urged authorities to take action against the Union Minister.

This is not the first of such cases. Recently, a Congress councillor from Karnataka said that drinking rum and eating half-fried omelettes can help in fighting coronavirus. "Rum is the medicine for COVID virus. Add a teaspoonful of ground pepper in 90ml rum and stir it well with your finger and drink it. Eat two half-fried omelettes to ensure that the coronavirus vanishes," said Congress councillor Ravichandra Gatti.

Also read: 'Drink rum, eat half-fried omelette': Karnataka councilor's COVID treatment advice