Strongly denying that he used human and animal remains in his Ayurvedic medicines, Yoga proponent Baba Ramdev on Wednesday said he would launch a countrywide agitation this year against use of goods made by multinational companies.
"If you have to stay in this country, you will have to use swadesi items," Ramdev told reporters in Mumbai.
He said the charges levelled by Communist Party of India leader Brinda Karat, on his medicines containing human remains, did not merit a reply.
"Main khopdi use nahin karta. Khopdi theek karta hoon (I do not use skull, I treat it)," he said, adding that the Hyderabad-based lab had denied that samples of his medicines contained human remains.
"I will never associate myself with politics. That is my vow. I do not want to take my campaign on the death-bed," Ramdev said.
Asked why he thought MNCs were behind a conspiracy against him, Ramdev said, "MNCs have lost business worth thousands of crores due to my campaign. In the last two years, consumption of cold drinks has come down by 60 to 70 per cent and same was the case with fast food."
Ramdev said he had so far spent Rs 30 to 40 crore in work related to yoga and ayurveda. The total project cost was Rs 100 crore, he added.