Yoga opponents should go to Pakistan: Sadhvi Prachi

VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi today kicked up another controversy with her remarks that those who are opposed to Yoga should go to Pakistan and that they have "no right" to stay in the country.

The comments came by way of Vishwa Hindu Parishad's(VHP) response to All India Muslim Personal Law Board's (AIMPLB) opposition to yoga.

The Sadhvi also did not spare Vice President Hamid Ansari, saying the main celebrations in Rajpath here on the occasion of the World's First International Day of Yoga on Sunday was not the wedding of a politician's daughter that he needed an "invitation."

"They should connect themselves with the traditions of India, culture of India...there is no need for any objection. If they are objecting then they should go to Pakistan. People who are objecting to it have no right to reside in India," the fiery VHP leader said when asked about AIMPLB's opposition to Yoga.

The remarks came days after firebrand BJP MP Yogi Adityanath said that those who are opposed to 'Surya namaskar' should "drown in the sea" amid protests by Muslim groups over the drill during the Yoga Day celebrations on June 21.

"They have India's food and sing songs of Pakistan...Yoga works like a binding factor. It is not related to a single religious belief...democracy does not tell you to object India's traditions and cultures," Sadhvi Prachi said.

The Sadhvi was slammed by the Congress.

"In a democracy, people have the full right to practice yoga or not," Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha said, as he accused the BJP of forcefully imposing Yoga on people.

BJP distanced itself from Sadhvi's comments and said Yoga has nothing to do with religion.

"You can't call VHP a political party...VHP has its own agenda at social level," BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said.

AIMPLB has reportedly targeted the NDA government for propagating yoga, surya namaskar and vande matram, saying they are part of "Brahmin Dharma" and "are against the ideology of Muslims".

It is reported to have come out openly against what it calls is the rising influence of "Brahmin Dharma and Vedic culture (that) are out to harm Islamic beliefs by all means".

The Board, which positions itself as a spokesperson of Muslim opinion in India and the chief custodian of Muslim personal law and the Shariat, has, for the first time, reached out directly to Muslim organisations, institutions and the imams of mosques in an appeal to close ranks against the forces of Hindutva.

A letter to these bodies and individuals was sent by Maulana Wali Rehmani, working general secretary of the AIMPLB.

Amid the controversy generated by BJP leader Ram Madhav's tweets questioning the absence of Ansari at the Rajpath event, Union Minister Shripad Naik yesterday cited protocol to say that the Vice President can't be invited to an event where the Prime Minister is chief guest.

"It was not the marriage of some leader's daughter that invitation card would be sent to him. The whole country was not given invitation card...," Sadhvi Prachi said.

"I am seeing this for several days that he(Ansari) is not taking any step towards the betterment of this country," she said.