New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS): The Trinamool Congress kicked up a row inside the Rajya Sabha on Friday as it mocked cow urine. It found itself in the minority as parties from across the nation vouched for homoeopathy, ayurveda and other alternate sources of medicine.

Trinamool lawmaker Shantanu Sen was speaking about the "terrible condition" of homeopathy centres in the upper house. "What can be expected from a government that says that drinking cow urine can cure disease or Covid-19?

"They are indirectly promoting private medical colleges and quackery," said Sen.

Many believe in the medicinal quality of cow urine and consider the animal sacred. Many have vouched for its properties to cure cancer among other diseases. Recently film star Akshay Kumar too accepted that he drinks it. The house was discussing the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

The Trinamool though found itself in minority as many parties along with the ruling BJP argued in favour of homeopathy.

"Homoeopathy is an old Indian system of medicine and it is accessible to the poor. So we need to make it robust," Biju Janata Dal's Prasanna Acharya said.

Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav too, advocated that there are diseases for which there is no cure in allopathy, but there is a cure in ayurveda.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh said that the amount set aside for homoeopathy by the AYUSH ministry budget is very small, while speaking on the legislation.

DMK on the other hand recommended that there should be a provision for representation of elected members of the State Medical Councils.

BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi said: "Some say that there is no scientific proof for homoeopathic medicines' effectiveness. Homoeopathy is a strain of medicine that focuses not just on the disease but also on the patient."

He added that it was a matter of regret that this particular stream of Indian medicine was not being explored.