Ahead of International Yoga Day, a Cabinet Minister in the ruling Congress Government of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Karnataka has courted a controversy by saying yoga was only for lazy people and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to run the Government instead of wasting time in propagating yoga.
Karnataka Cabinet Minister for Social Welfare H Anjaneya told the reporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday, “Yoga is for lazy people who do not have time for exercises. It is for people belonging to well-to-do families. They do not have time for exercising in the open, including walks”.
On the contrary, people who work in the fields and sweat it out do not require yoga, the Minister said, even as the Congress Government in the State is joining the rest of the country in observing June 21 as International Yoga Day. Anjaneya said more than anything else people should encourage their children to play outdoor games, including running and walking, instead of practising yoga.
launching a tirade against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Minister said he should not indulge in yoga and spend time in running the country. “The PM should not profess or indulge in yoga and instead he should spend time on running the country, which is his duty,” he said.
Contrary to his stand, the Siddaramaiah Government has taken a decision to observe and fully adopt International Yoga Day with the guidelines of the Union Government.