A Delhi-based motivational speaker, who was slapped with a legal notice by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for calling doctors ‘murderers in white coats’ in a video on his YouTube channel, on January 17 defended his stance saying his ‘educational video’ was not intended to defame any doctor or the medical fraternity.

The IMA has sent the defamation notice to Vivek Bindra over the 9.40-minute video titled ‘Indian medical system ki asliyat’. The doctors’ association is claiming Rs.50 crore in damages.

While categorically dismissing Bindra’s standpoint, IMA said the association would go ahead with the legal proceedings. “The video is indeed a publicity stunt. Bindra has defamed a noble profession to attract public attention. If he has specific cases of medical malpractice or overcharging, he can file a complaint with the authorities concerned. Instead he is attempting to tarnish the whole medical fraternity. It is unacceptable,” IMA Secretary General Dr RN Tandon told Pharmabiz.

IMA, which is known to be a body of over 2.5 lakh doctors spread across the country, has demanded a written apology from Bindra. If he fails to do so by January 21, the association will initiate civil and criminal legal proceedings.

Addressing a press conference to clarify his stance on the issue, Bindra said: “Whatever I have spoken is nothing new and it has been spoken everywhere at the workplace, social gatherings and in families. Today it is a national sentiment, public sentiment and social sentiment. Whatever I have said in the video is available on the Internet and has been said by many people earlier at various platforms like TV shows, newspapers, movies, blogs, articles and even social media.”

The leadership trainer said he had received death threats after posting the controversial video which had gone viral. “I am taking appropriate civil and criminal action against threat callers. I have screenshots and audio recordings of these calls,” he added.

“It is not me who has made the video viral, nor is it in the hands of anyone to make a video viral. This video has touched the sentiments of the people at large who have spread this among friends, relatives and colleagues. Till date we have not advertised videos on You Tube,” Bindra says.

His You Tube channel is claimed to have 1.7 million subscribers and a total reach of 8 crore viewers across the globe. The video has stirred up a storm on the Internet as many top hospitals in the country are under lens over unethical medical practices and overcharging. A study by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority last month revealed that a hospital charged a margin of up to 1,700 per cent on consumables and medicines used in treating a seven-year-old dengue patient who subsequently died.