'Om' to be chanted on World Yoga Day, Islamic groups supporting BJP against the move

New Delhi, June 18: Surya Namashkar may have been cancelled out on the celebration of the World Yoga Day, but 'Om' remains on the charts even when BJP-aligned Islamic groups oppose. Nilanjan Sanyal, secretary of the ministry of AYUSH, the nodal body for the show, said that there is no wrong in chanting the word as there are no religious connotations.

With the release of the book "Yoga aur Islam", BJP's Muslim organizations showed their support to the Yoga day amid controversies; However, the chanting of the 'Om' word just did not go too well with these very groups. The Muslim Rashtriya Manch, which is an RSS offshoot said,"Darool Uloom of Deoband, one of the largest Islamic seminaries, has ruled that under the Islamic ways, one can either say Allah or remain silent instead of pronouncing Om."

The government decided to do away with Surya Namashkar after Muslim Groups said that it was a part of Hindu religious practices.

The Yoga show will see four Yogic experts on the dias, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Baba Ramdev, HR Nagendra, Hansaji Jayadeva Yogendra and Swami Atmapriyananda would be seen sharing the dias.

Baba Ramdev and spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar are expected to bring the largest contingent of 5000 people for the event.

While almost all the religious organization invitees will be participating enthusiastically, only one-that od Brahma Kumaris is likely to opt out, following a row over its usage of logo in the event.

Sanyal said,"They wanted to wear their own logo. But we decided that no organisation will showcase their individual brands or logo. We have not heard back from them."

While a number of MPs and MLAs have been invited for the event, stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Shilpa Shetty and cricketer Virat Kohli are not expected to come for the show.

OneIndia News