MP Governor asks colleges to observe yoga day, submit proof

Anandiben Yoga Anandiben Patel participating in an International Yoga Day event in 2017 | Facebook account of Anandiben Patel

Days after she claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unmarried, Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel is back in the headlines after directing all state universities and colleges to observe International Yoga Day slated to be held on June 21.

The educational institutions have been directed to send photographs of the preparations of the event, the names of the participating students and teachers and a CD of the function to the Raj Bhawan, as per a circular.

Further, all universities and colleges have been ordered to hold seminars, competitions, debates and other events on International Yoga Day.

On a similar note, West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi issued a similar circular earlier this month, directing vice-chancellors of all state universities to observe International Yoga Day.

In 2014, an international day for yoga was declared unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) accepting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposal for the same.

Patel has been considered an acolyte of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and succeeded him as Gujarat chief minister after the BJP won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. After resigning as Gujarat chief minister in 2016, Patel was made governor of Madhya Pradesh in January 2018.

In February, she had claimed that making pakodas was a skill that would lead to upward mobility while addressing a tribal function in Chhindwara district. In April, the Congress had criticised Patel after a video clip emerged of her allegedly giving political advice to BJP members on attracting voters.