Amid protests by minority groups against the reported move to make yoga compulsory in schools, Yogi Adityanath, Gorakhpur MP from the BJP, said here on Monday that those who wanted to avoid yoga could “leave Hindustan”.
He said people opposing “Surya Namaskar” should drown themselves in the sea.
He was speaking at a function at the Mata Annapurna Mandir in Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to Hindi daily Dainik Jagaran , Adityanath said: “Lord Shankar was the biggest yogi who started yoga. Mahadev [another name of Lord Shankar] lives in every particle of this country. So those who want to avoid yoga and Lord Shankar can leave Hindustan.”
Minister of State for Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in Lucknow on Tuesday that yoga should not be associated with religion. “Yoga should not be seen through the prism of religion. It is the golden key to health,” Mr. Naqvi told a press conference. He said that if some people had objection to International Yoga Day (June 21), they had the option to stay away.
