Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya defends NMC logo, calls it "matter of pride"

New Delhi [India], December 11 (ANI): Amid the controversy over the National Medical Commission's (NMC) new logo carrying Hindu deity, Lord Dhanvantari and replaced 'India' with 'Bharat', Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that Lord Dhanvantari is an icon in the medical field for India and everyone should be proud of its heritage and culture.
Defending the change in the NMC's logo, Mansukh Mandaviya in the Parliament said, "Lord Dhanvantari is an icon in the medical field for India and only the picture has been coloured in the logo of NMC. Having the picture of Lord Dhanvantari is not only important for India, but it is a matter of pride and the country should be proud of its heritage and culture."
The matter was raised by TMC's Santanu Sen on Monday through a Zero Hour mention in the Rajya Sabha. He demanded the restoration of the National Medical Commission's previous logo.
However, on the controversy over the logo, the NMC said that Lord Dhanvantari has been a part of it since last year. Now just some colour has been added instead of black and white.
According to Hindu belief, Lord Dhanvantari is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. His incarnation in the earth's world took place during the churning of the ocean. On Trayodashi, Dhanvantari emerged from the ocean. That is why the incarnation of Lord Dhanvantari is celebrated as Dhanteras, two days before Diwali. He also invented Ayurveda on this day.
The doctors who practise Ayurveda call him the god of health. He was the one who discovered nectarous medicines.
Earlier, the Indian Medical Association of Kerala also strongly condemned the new logo of NMC depicting a Hindu deity and replaced 'India' with 'Bharat'.
Also, the National Medical Commission drew ire from the Indian Medical Association of Kerala for the redesign of the NMC logo. Condemning the new logo, IMA Kerala stated that "the present logo is a blatant violation to the secular nature of the country and the purity of medical science, which stands above any religion or any ideas of polarisation. This is science and science should be left as it is".
Amid a huge uproar, NMC spokesperson Dr Yogendra Malik came out in defence of the new logo and said that the same logo has been there for the past year.
"The logo earlier has a Greek God of medicine and healthcare in it and the logo that you see in the present has an image of Lord Dhanvantri, which was already there, it has just been coloured. This has been our logo for the past one year," Dr Yogendra Malik said. (ANI)