It was not clear that whether the Prime Minister will himself be performing yoga during the event, with Union Minister Shripad Naik of AYUSH, the coordinating ministry for the event, saying “I think he will perform that day”. He was asked whether Modi will be participating himself in doing yoga.
The UN General Assembly had in December last year adopted an India-led resolution, supported by over 175 UN member- states, declaring June 21 as ‘International Day of Yoga’, recognizing that “Yoga provides a holistic approach to health and well-being”.
“I have invited Prime Minister Modi and he will be there,” Naik said noting that the main programme, which will take place on Rajpath, was expected to be attended by around 40,000-50,000 people who will perform yoga.
Naik said the timing of the programme is from 7 am to 7.30 am and people across the country will do the same ‘asanas’ simultaneously and arrangements have been made accordingly. “The training for this has been going on for the last one month,” he said.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that the day will be observed in over 250 cities in 190 countries across the world. “Our missions and diplomatic posts have made arrangements for the celebrations and other related events,” Swarup said.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, along with Naik, will be launching a special portal for the ‘International Yoga Day’ on June 9.
PTI