Naidu heaps praise on President, PM for Yoga Day initiatives

Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today praised President Pranab Mukherjee for leading by example on International Yoga Day and heaped encomiums on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making India "spiritual capital" of the world on June 21.

"President proved to be the people's president once again, led by example on Yoga Day at Rashtrapati Bhawan and guided the nation," Naidu said on Twitter.

In another tweet, he said, "Modi is great. Made India world's spiritual capital, 192 countries/193 UN members have celebrated Yoga Day which was really a world integration."

"Modi is really great, transforming India in every sense, NITI Aayog to Swachh Bharat to Beti Padao, Betai Bachao to AMURT (Atal Mission for Urban Renewal and Transformation) to Yoga. India moves On," Naidu added.

In his earlier tweets, Naidu, who had participated in a Yoga Day event at the YMCA Grounds in Chennai, also said in the context of all-round disintegration, yoga is the tool for integration and that "yoga is not a religion" but a way of living whose aim is "a healthy mind in a healthy body".

Congress had been attacking the government for trying to "usurp" the legacy of yoga. Continuing with the party's attack on the issue, Congress spokesperson R P N Singh today said that the Modi government should not claim undue credit over yoga, and emphasised that the spiritual and physical exercise form has been practised in India from the time immemorial.