Bardhan against ‘forcing’ Yoga Day by Modi govt

NAGPUR: Veteran Communist Party of India leader A B Bardhan has come out strongly against the Modi government’s Yoga popularizing plan. Taking strong exception to the NDA government’s “forceful” approach to celebrate June 21 as “Yoga day”, he said the date was deliberately chosen as it marked the death anniversary of RSS founder Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar.
The former CPI secretary general, who was in the city on Sunday, alleged that the Modi government was pushing the RSS agenda by promoting Yoga.Dr Hedgewar, who founded RSS in 1925 along with four other fellow Brahmins, died in Nagpur on June 21, 1940, at the age of 51.
Bardhan said the government should not force anyone to observe “Yoga Day.” Asked about the opposition from some Muslim organizations, he said: “I know Yoga cannot be equated with Hindu religion. I also do Yoga every day. But if some people do not want to do it, how can the government impose it on them?”
There was a rift on performing Surya Namaskar on the occasion of International Yoga day. The Muslim Law Board had decided to move Supreme Court and launch a nationwide campaign against the order that wanted all students to perform Yoga and Surya Namaskar on June 21. Several opposition leaders, particularly from the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, have also hit out at the BJP-led government for making the celebrations compulsory and have accused the ruling party of trying to create a communal divide. Bardhan stressed that nobody should force their own belief system on others.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his efforts to get international recognition for Yoga through UN resolution for celebrating the day. “We want Yoga to be included in school curriculum,” a senior RSS swayamsevak here said.