Pragya Singh Thakur, the BJP MP from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, has said that drinking cow urine protects from lung infection and can also be beneficial against coronavirus. A video of Thakur speaking to a gathering has been widely circulated on social media. The MP was not wearing a mask during her address.

“If we drink the urine of Indian cows, it reduces infection in our lungs,” Thakur said. “I drink it every day. That is why I do not have coronavirus right now.”

Thakur’s statement comes at a time when the Indian Medical Association has clearly specified that there is no scientific evidence to prove that cow dung or urine helps with the treatment or prevention of Covid-19.

“There is no concrete scientific evidence that cow dung or urine work to boost immunity against COVID-19, it is based entirely on belief,” Dr JA Jayalal, national president at the Indian Medical Association, was quoted as saying by The Wire.