Chandigarh, Nov 25: After oncologists questioned his claim that a strict diet helped his wife defeat stage 4 cancer, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu Monday clarified that the diet plan was implemented in consultation with doctors and should be considered "facilitation in the treatment".
During a press conference in Amritsar on November 21, Sidhu stated that his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu had been declared cancer-free, emphasizing the role of dietary and lifestyle changes in her recovery.
However, oncologists at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai warned that cancer patients should not delay or stop their treatment by following unproven remedies.
In a video message posted on X on Monday, Sidhu 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."
The former Punjab Congress chief 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."
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."
"My 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.
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.”
He added, “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.”
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Bhopal, Nov 25: High drama was witnessed at Rani Kamalapati railway station in Bhopal after the Vande Bharat Express for Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi was delayed on Monday by nearly 11 hours due to a technical snag, officials and eyewitnesses said.
Before the premium train, which otherwise departs from Rani Kamalapati station at 5.40 am, left for its destination in the evening, angry passengers staged a protest on railway tracks alleging they had not been intimated about the delay.
As a result of the delay, the Vande Bharat Express (20172) from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Rani Kamalapati station was cancelled on Monday evening. Similarly, the Vande Bharat Express (20171) from Kamalapati to Nizamuddin stands cancelled on Tuesday, Jabalpur-based West Central Railway (WCR) Chief Public Relation Officer Harshit Shrivastava told PTI when contacted over phone.
The semi-high speed train left for its destination in the evening instead of its scheduled time in the morning, WCR's Acting Public Relation Officer (Bhopal Division) Naval Agrawal confirmed to PTI.
Agrawal, however, maintained he does not know the exact departure time, but eyewitnesses said the train left for Hazrat Nizamuddin at around 4.30 pm, nearly 11 hours late.
The train was delayed due to technical reasons, he said, adding passengers were kept in the loop via different mediums, including train-related apps, about the delay.
Many passengers boarded the Vande Bharat Express (20171) headed to Nizamuddin, he said.
The Railways did not cancel the train on Monday keeping the interest of passengers in mind, the acting PRO emphasised.
Agrawal said the rail yard at Rani Kamalapati station (formerly Habibganj) was well equipped and has the expertise to repair and do maintenance work of the new-age Vande Bharat trains.
According to eyewitnesses, passengers who turned up at Rani Kamalapati station protested after the train did not depart for Hazrat Nizamuddin at its scheduled time of 5.40 am.
Some of the passengers, after a long wait, tried to entered the Shatabdi Express (which goes to New Delhi) at around 3.10 pm, but were pushed back by Railway Protection Force personnel, they said.
A group of angry passengers with backpacks then squatted on the tracks in protest, the eyewitnesses added.
The Vanda Bharat Express (20172), upon returning from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Rani Kamlaapati station at around 10.20 pm on Sunday, suffered a technical malfunction as a spring of C11 coach went kaput, sources said.
The train was taken to the yard for repair, but the snag could not be fixed in time, thus delaying its early morning departure, they explained.
वंदे भारत जैसी ट्रेनों का कोई भी मोबाइल एप्लिकेशन सही समय ही नहीं बतापा राहा है तो कैसी चलेगी रेलवे?? 8 hrs already delayed
— Ankit Swarnkar (@swarnkar_ankit) November 25, 2024
Train number 20171 Rani kamlapati to Hazrat Nizamuddin station @IRCTCofficial @AshwiniVaishnaw @ntes @irctcnorthzone pic.twitter.com/P9J7lyexW5