The Indian Association of Physiotherapists has denied that Satyendar Jain, an imprisoned Delhi Minister, received physiotherapy, and they have also asked for an apology for "degrading physiotherapy," news agency ANI reported.
This comes after Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister, stated on Saturday that the viral CCTV video of Jain receiving a full-body massage was "treatment for injury."
On Saturday morning, a CCTV footage showing Jain receiving a full-body massage in Tihar Jail surfaced on social media, two days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded that the minister be moved from the prison.
Sisodia claimed that the "physiotherapy" was necessary because of a spinal injury and that the BJP was to blame for releasing the CCTV footage.
"Only BJP can make cruel jokes by leaking CCTV footage of an injured person's treatment... His (Satyendar Jain's) spine was damaged, it's on record," he had said on Saturday.
Calling out the Minister, the Indian Association of Physiotherapists tweeted on Saturday, "IAP strongly condemns the statement of the minister degrading physiotherapy by comparing it with massage given to another minister. Shows the level of education and knowledge to them about our noble profession."
The association's president denounced the minister in a video and demanded an apology from him.
"There is news going on on social media and we have received many complaints from our members. Many physiotherapists all across India that in jail, and one physiotherapy session was given to a patient. And as a professor of physiotherapy and as president of the Indian Association of Physiotherapists, we can say that the session going on was not physiotherapy. It is a way of degrading physiotherapy. We strongly condemn this act. We want that the Minister or whosoever should apologise for that," he was quoted by ANI in its report.
"I request all physiotherapists in India to write down to the news channels that please don't degrade physiotherapy. This is not physiotherapy. Let's condemn this act and let's move in a direction where we can correct things," the president added.
(With Inputs From ANI)