Devendra Fadnavis praises PM Modi for giving yoga worldwide acceptance

NAGPUR: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving an international status to yoga and said it should be kept away from religion and politics.

Participating in International Yoga Day celebrations here, Fadnavis told reporters, "Modiji had taken yoga to the United Nations and within a short span of three months, it was worldwide accepted. Today about 177 countries in the world are practising yoga on this day."

Union Minister for Transport and Shipping Nitin Gadkari presided over the event jointly organised by Nagpur Municipal Corporation and Janardan Swamy Yogaabhyasi Mandal.

Fadnavis said he had recently visited Dubai and he was told by a top diplomat that about 10,000 persons are performing yoga today.

"Yoga was a gift of India to the world and in the days of hectic life style, the best form to release tension and live happily was to practise yoga," he said.

"Yoga should be kept away from religion and politics," Fadnavis said when asked about opposition from Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat to yoga.

Yoga was performed by over 20,000 participants including NCC cadets and recruits under training from the women's battalion at the Regional Police Training School (RPTS) at this event.

Maharashtra Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Minister for Social Justice Rajkumar Badole and City Mayor Praveen Datke along with other city legislators were present on the occasion.

The Chief Minister who later visited the Central Prison on the Wardha Road here practised yoga with a select group of jail inmates.

"Yoga will cure and purify them (inmates) who have committed some wrong doings. Yoga will certainly bring a sense of relief to these inmates," Fadnavis said.