MP ministers sleep, fiddle with cellphone at International Yoga Day event

While state agriculture minister Gaurishankar Bisen slept through a significant part of the IYD function in Chhindwara, school education minister Vijay Shah remained content with “watching Prime Minister Narendra Modi perform yoga” on his cellphone.

Updated on: Jun 21, 2017, 14:11:48 IST

Hindustan Times, Bhopal | By Shruti Tomar

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A lot has been said about the calming powers of yoga. Well, it seemed to have calmed Madhya Pradesh agriculture minister Gaurishankar Bisen so much that he wound up sleeping through a significant part of the third International Yoga Day (IYD) function held in Chhindwara on Wednesday.

SLEEP THERAPY? Madhya Pradesh agriculture minister Gaurishankar Bisen catches forty winks during the International Yoga Day function in Chhindwara on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

Maverick politician Bisen has often found himself making headlines for all the wrong reasons, much to the embarrassment of the ruling BJP government.

The event started off well, with Bisen performing asanas in the company of 2,000 students and other members of the public. However, barely 10 minutes passed before the minister decided that he had had enough of sitting on the ground. So he shuffled over to a sofa placed nearby, and soon fell asleep.

“I wasn’t feeling well,” Bisen told mediapersons after the event.

Meanwhile, school education minister Vijay Shah was found phubbing during another IYD function held in Khandwa district. He sat on the stage while other participants performed yoga, but did not bend a knee himself. Later, he spoke to the media on the benefits of yoga.

When the irony of the situation was pointed out to him, Shah also cited medical issues. “I was discharged from a hospital recently, and the doctor forbade me from performing yoga. And I was not fiddling with my mobile phone. I was using it to watch Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s programme,” he explained.

The IYD was observed in all the 50 districts of Madhya Pradesh. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan participated in its Bhopal leg at Lal Parade ground.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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