Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Ajay Singh, today strongly criticised BJP government in the state for organising a mass Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) exercise tomorrow, terming it a part of "saffron agenda".

"Instead of focusing on improving quality of education and educational infrastructure, the government is wasting resources on organising exercises like Surya Namaskar as a part of its saffron agenda," Ajay said here.

Introduction of Bhagwad Gita in the curriculum was a similar, earlier attempt to saffronise the education, he said.

The state government's decision to organise mass Surya Namaskars tomorrow, wherein thousands of students are expected to take part, so as to set a world record, has not gone down well with the Muslim community in the state, leading to a `fatwa' against it.

However, defending the decision, School Education Minister Archana Chitnis had said earlier that Surya Namaskar was a Yogic exercise aimed at improving the health, and tomorrow's programme was not mandatory. "The Sun is neither saffron nor green," she had added.