Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, several state ministers and people from all walks of life joined the country in celebrating the fifth International Yoga Day in different parts of the state on Friday morning.
The main Yoga Day function of the government was held at Raj Bhawan where Governor Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma along with other dignitaries performed yoga.
On the occasion, the Governor said that yoga was an ancient science which kept the mind and the body healthy. He lauded the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in getting Yoga Day recognised in the United Nations.
The Chief Minister wished the people of the state on International Yoga Day and said that he was grateful that the Governor promoted yoga in the state.
“This life is made for yoga and people should practice it for a good and healthy life as it is an ancient exercise which used to be practised by saints. We should be thankful to our Prime Minister for making yoga an international event and bringing the world nearer to our (Indian) culture and tradition,” Yogi said.
At the Raj Bhawan function, Minister of State for AYUSH, Dharam Singh Saini, Lucknow Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia, Chief Secretary Anup Chandra Pandey along with around 1,000 people were present.
Acharya Piyush Kant led the yoga session with the Chief Minister doing all asanas but the Governor selected a few of them for health reasons.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya attended the Yoga Day programme in Prayagraj and BJP state chief and Union minister Mahendra Nath Pandey in New Delhi.
DGP OP Singh performed yoga with policemen at Reserve Police Lines in Lucknow.
Among prominent leaders and ministers of Bharatiya Janata Party who attended International Yoga Day programmes were Union minister General (Retired) VK Singh (in Ghaziabad), UP minister Surya Pratap Shahi (Lalitpur), Swami Prasad Maurya (Budaun), Dara Singh Chauhan (Barabanki), Dharampal Singh (Gorakhpur), Ramapati Shastri (Unnao), Brijesh Pathak (Sitapur), Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary (Shahjahanpur), Chetan Chauhan (Farrukhabad), Srikant Sharma (Bijnore), Sidharth Nath Singh (Meerut), Mohsin Raza (Amethi) and Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’ (Rae Bareli).