Delhi's Yogashala program will be closed from Tuesday: Sisodia

 

Sources in the Arvind Kejriwal government on Monday claimed that the LG has not approved the extension of the scheme after October 31.

According to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the "Yogshala of Delhi" program will end on Tuesday, as Lt Governor VK Saxena has not decided whether to continue it or not. This may spark a new conflict between the AAP government and the LG.

On Monday, sources in the Arvind Kejriwal-led government said that the LG has not approved the extension of the scheme beyond October 31.

According to LG Secretariat sources, LG's office has not received any file requesting permission to extend the program beyond October 31; Consequently, it is wrong to say that Saxena has not approved the extension, which is why the program is being discontinued.

Earlier too, sources said that no file had been received and Sisodia had only written a letter requesting that the program continue.

"How can we treat a letter as a proposal?" One of the sources asked.

Sisodia, however, said the file has been sent to the LG's office.

The board of governors of the Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University (DPSRU), which runs the program, had approved the continuation of the scheme in its meeting held last week.

“Delhi ki Yogshaala” classes have been closed from yesterday i.e. 1.11.22 through a government order. It was decided to continue the classes in the BOG meeting of DPSRU, however Hon’ble LG has not given permission yet. We Will keep you informed on further details," said a tweet from the official Twitter page of Delhi's Yogashala.

Tagging the tweet at the conclusion of the event, Sisodia alleged in a tweet in Hindi: "The university board wants the yoga shala to continue for the people of Delhi, the government has also given the budget but still, an order has been given." Order issued to close 'Delhi ki Yogashala' by threatening the authorities At present, 590 yoga classes in Delhi's parks will remain closed from tomorrow.


Later in another tweet in Hindi, he said: "My proposal to continue Delhi's Yogshala program was sent to LG Sahab after CM Arvind Kejriwal's approval, but LG Sir has not taken any decision on it yet. But in the midst of this, the authorities have been asked to issue directions for the closure of yoga classes."

One of the city government sources alleged that under pressure from the LG, the authorities have issued orders to postpone the event despite the approval of the DPSRU board.

"The decision regarding continuation and extension of the program was taken by the Board of Governors of DPSRU in its 29th meeting held on October 29," the source said.

The BOG assessed the merits of the program and approved the extension of its DPSRU Act. The source said the general council of the university, which is headed by the LG, will have to ratify the extension recommendation.

Every member of the board was present in the meeting. Sources claim that the agenda item was discussed in the meeting to consider "Continuing Delhi's Yogashala" as an outreach program of the university.

“The agenda item was discussed in detail, after which it was unanimously decided to go ahead with the program,” a source said.

The matter was placed before the General Council of the DPSRU.

"However, no meeting has been called by the LG till date regarding the extension of the programme," another source said.

Sources in the Delhi government also claimed that the LG pressured some officials to issue an order suspending free yoga classes as part of the program while the file was still open.

On Friday, Sisodia met Saxena and asked him to ensure that the flagship program of the AAP government continues.

The Deputy Chief Minister had said that the LG had promised to examine the relevant documents and stop any wrongdoing after their meeting.

Last week, Sisodia requested an explanation from the principal secretary for training and technical education and claimed that she was trying to scrap the programme.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "conspiracy" to shut down Delhi's yogashala program by pressurizing the authorities.

He had also said that Kejriwal had approved the continuation of the program and sent the file to the LG for approval.

The program to provide free yoga instructors to the residents of Delhi was started by the AAP government last year. Around 590 daily yoga classes were offered across the national capital by the program to over 17,000 participants.