BJP pressurising officials to discontinue ‘Dilli Ki Yogshala’: Sisodia

Sisodia said the file for the continuation of the programme has been approved by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and has been forwarded to lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena for the final nod.

New Delhi Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using pressure tactics on state government officials in order to discontinue the ‘Dilli Ki Yogshala’ programme.

Delhi deputy chief minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia. (ANI)

Sisodia said the file for the continuation of the programme, which aims to promote meditation and make yoga instructors available to the people free of cost, has been approved by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and has been forwarded to lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena for the final nod.

The development comes a day after Sisodia had sought an explanation from the secretary of the directorate of training and technical education (TTE) for an alleged bid to “discontinue” the AAP dispensation’s flagship yoga programme. In a note sent on Tuesday, Sisodia said he was informed that in a September 30 meeting of the board of governors of the Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University (DPSRU), which runs the programme, it was decided to discontinue the program on the “insistence” of TTE secretary R Alice Vaz.

Bureaucrats working with the Delhi government report to the Centre-appointed lieutenant governor as services come under the preview of the LG, not the elected government.

The LG’s office did not comment on the matter. The BJP, meanwhile, dismissed the accusations as “baseless”.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Sisodia said, “Around 17,000 people were participating in the scheme, of which 11,000 people were suffering from post-Covid symptoms, but the BJP has pressured officials to stop the project from November 1 onwards. The officers are being harassed to stop the Dilli ki Yogshala scheme but we will not let this project halt.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself is fond of yoga and promotes it across the country. We hope that the LG will allow us to continue the programme for the best interest of Delhi residents,” the deputy chief minister said.

The ‘Dilli Ki Yogshala’ programme was announced by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on December 13, 2021 to provide free yoga instructors to the citizens of Delhi. Currently, 590 yoga classes with more than 17,000 beneficiaries are conducted on a daily basis across the Capital.

In response, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “While levelling baseless allegations, Sisodia forgot that the promotion of yoga is a commitment of PM Narendra Modi’s government and it is due to his commitment that Yoga Day is now celebrated internationally and hence there is no question of anyone from BJP objecting to Yoga promotion in Delhi. The truth is that the Kejriwal government, like on many other issues, did not obtain competent authority clearance before launching the scheme.”