Surya namaskar rule: PM inspired me, says BJP corporator who proposed idea

MUMBAI: A day after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation passed a proposal to make yoga and surya namaskar compulsory for students in civic schools, the first-time

MUMBAI: A day after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation passed a proposal to make yoga and surya namaskar compulsory for students in civic schools, the first-time BJP corporator, Samita Kamble, who made the proposal, finds herself in the spotlight in the face of mounting opposition from political parties.

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The 48-year-old from Mulund, however, stands by her proposal saying she took up yoga after being inspired by PM Narendra Modi’s idea of celebrating the practise.

“I took up yoga during Yoga Day 2015, inspired by the PM. I have motivated people to take it up for their own benefit. Students in our schools are our own children. We must look at their well-being,” Kamble told HT. On Tuesday, despite severe opposition from the Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, the BJP-Senaruled BMC passed the proposal.

The resolution will now be tabled before the commissioner, who will look into whether it can be implemented. The resolution says yoga and surya namaskar should to be made mandatory for the 5.40 lakh students in 1,200 civic schools. The SP, which opposed the proposal as it also includes 400 Urdu medium schools, plans to write to municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta demanding that he makes it clear the administration can’t implement it. The party said it was ready to approach the HC.

“We want the commissioner to reply in seven days. There have been cases when he has said the proposals are not feasible. We want the same answer. We do not want the BJP to bring in its RSS ideologies and mix religion with education. The state of civic schools is poor; we must focus on developing them first,” said SP corporator Rais Shaikh.

Kamble, who has got her family to take up yoga, insists on its implementation. “I saw an online post of a 93-year-old woman doing yoga. It is a form of exercise that all children should benefit from. The opposition is trying to add a religious colour to it.” During the discussion before the proposal was passed, the SP demanded the practice be made optional for schools. But Kamble said that will not bring out the right results. “We want all children to benefit.” What about the poor-infrastructure? “You just need an open space to perform yoga. That is not difficult,” Kamble said. She said the BJP will follow-up to get the proposal implemented. A senior civic official said, “We have to see what the proposal states before taking any decision.”