Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta on Friday said the leaders who are condemning the government's order of performing 'Surya Namaskar' on the occasion of Makar Sankranti are looking for an excuse to create disharmony among the religious communities and harming the brotherhood.
He added that the Surya Namaskar must be seen as any other physical exercise and shouldn't be attributed to religion.
"Whether it is 'Surya Namaskar', yoga or Aasan, these are Indian traditions. To attach the practice with the religion is absolutely wrong. It's a way of exercise," Gupta told ANI.
"Just because they don't have an agenda, they raise any issue to break brotherhood. They try to create such issues to divide people. One should not associate 'Surya Namaskar' with any religion it's like any other form of exercise," he added.
Earlier on Thursday, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah tweeted, "Why should Muslim students be forced to do anything, including yoga, to celebrate Makar Sankranti? Makar Sankranti is a festival & to celebrate it or not must be a personal choice. Would the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) be happy if a similar order was issued to order non-Muslim students to celebrate Eid?".
While the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti tweeted, "GOIs PR misadventures aim to demean & collectively humiliate Kashmiris. Forcing students and staff to perform Surya namaskars by issuing orders despite their obvious discomfort with the imposition of something laden with religious connotations gives an insight into their communal mindset".
While on January 4, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) opposed the Central Government's directive to organize the "Surya Namaskar" program in schools on the 75th anniversary of Independence Day, and said that it is a form of "Surya puja" which is not allowed in Islam
Earlier today, as a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav commemorating 75 years of the country's independence, Union Minister of AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday hosted the first-ever global Surya Namaskar demonstration programme and lauded the participants for "helping serve humanity".
The programme, held on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti, was aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle through the practice of Surya Namaskar. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sonowal asked the people to practice the Yogasana from their homes.
( With inputs from ANI )
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