Uttarakhand says ‘no’ to Yoga Day celebrations

These are part of BJP’s propaganda, says Rawat

Labelling the International Yoga Day celebrations as the “propaganda” of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has said the State government would not participate in them.

“We do not believe in blowing trumpets, we believe in working towards achieving certain goals; we are working on an action plan on yoga,” Mr. Rawat told the media.

If the Centre was keen on the practice of yoga then it should give jobs to one crore people to teach the same, he said.

“I do not want to mesmerise people in the name of yoga. I want to make an action plan so that people can benefit from it,” Mr. Rawat said. The Uttarakhand government was preparing a road map and it would start implementing it from September.

Practice session

While the State government is opposing the celebrations, practice sessions are being organised at the Raj Bhavan here.

Many ashrams in Uttarakhand, especially those in Rishikesh and Hardwar, will participate in the celebrations.