BJP to organise yoga events at 75,000 places across country on Yoga Day

The BJP will mark the eighth International Yoga Day on Tuesday by organising yoga sessions at 75,000 places across the country with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the mega exercise at a yoga event in Mysuru in Karnataka where over 15,000 people are likely to participate.

Addressing a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said on Monday that Union ministers and chief ministers of the party, its elected representatives like MPs and MLAs besides the organisation's office-bearers will attend yoga programmes.

With COVID-19 stalling any major public event on the yoga day for the last two years, the party has decided to hold the exercise in a big way this year, he said.

BJP president J P Nadda will attend a yoga session in Noida while Home Minister Amit Shah will be in the national capital.

As the country is celebrating 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, an ongoing exercise to mark the 75th year of India's Independence, the party will organise yoga events at 75,000 places, Trivedi said.

He asserted that the global acceptance of yoga since the United Nations declared June 21 as the International Yoga Day in December 2014 following the proposal from the Modi government, symbolises the rise of India's cultural power.

The BJP spokesperson, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, said India is perhaps the country with the most expansive cultural influence globally but it was "unfortunate" that previous governments did not put this to use effectively.

It was only after Modi became prime minister that on his initiative the UN decided on observing the International Yoga Day, Trivedi said and noted that 177 of 193 UN members were co-sponsors of the proposal.

It was India's diplomatic success, he added.