Even as Saudi Arabia accepts Yoga, Indian opposition leaders attack it to insult Hindus in their own country

Trust the good-for-nothing Indian opposition to repeatedly try to besmirch Yoga which has been a proud part of India’s rich heritage and culture. As Saudi Arabia signed MoU with India to promote it in the Kingdom, India’s opposition leaders, unfortunately, spared no stone unturned to attack it on the occasion of International Yoga Day just to insult the Hindus.

In a welcome move, on the occasion of International Yoga Day, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India to pave the way for the establishment of a formal “yoga protocol (standards)” to promote it in the country. The standards and courses will be localised and tailor-made for the Kingdom keeping in mind the local sensitivities.

The MoU effectively means that Yoga has been formally recognised in the country as an important sports activity by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sports. The MoU which has been in the making for the last 6-7 months also paves the way for collaboration in research, education, and training in the field of Yoga between Leaders Development Institute, Saudi Ministry of Sports, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India.

However, back home, on expected lines, the opposition attacked Yoga in a desperate bid to insult the Hindus. Congress scion Rahul Gandhi led the way as he tweeted, “It’s #YogaDay Not #HideBehindYogaDay”.

Union Minister of State for AYUSH, Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju took exception to Gandhi’s tweet and hit back at him as he replied, “I’m ashamed of him because he will never.Whole world has gracefully accepted YOGA but he ridicules! I’m proud that after 6 decades of dynastic rule, India’s Prime Minister @narendramodi. Ji convinced the United Nations and 21st June is celebrated as #InternationalDayOfYoga.”

Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi further lowered the discourse as he tweeted, “Yoga will neither become more powerful by chanting Aum, nor Yoga’s power will be lessened by uttering Allah.”

Singhvi’s tweet didn’t go down well with Union Minister Javadekar countering him as he tweeted, “The Congress looks at yoga through the prism of religion and is proving that it is even today engaged in politics of appeasement.”

However, Singhvi was only emboldened by the backlash received on his tweet and further attacked the Hindus as he tweeted, “Those engaged in looting crores of donations of devotees in the name of Shri Ram are trying to get over their embarrassment by raising questions on my faith. They should know yoga is part and parcel of India since time immemorial. Neither theknowledge stream of yoga nor my faith needs any certificate from any cunning nationalist. Beware of false campaigns.”

Kerala CM and staunch communist Pinarayi Vijayan also chipped in as he said, “Modern yoga is not something that needs to be seen in connection with any particular religion or spirituality. It should be seen as a form of healthcare.”

While the world moves to recognise the importance of Yoga in the post-pandemic world, it is unfortunate to see the Indian opposition leaders attack it to carry out appeasement politics.