Despite directions from Haryana Chief Secretary D S Dhesi to attend the last day of yoga training camp in Panchkula, only five out of the total 21 additional chief secretaries (ACSes) turned up while all others, including the 15 Principal Secretaries, gave the event a miss. The three-day yoga training camp, which was held in preparation for International Yoga Day to be celebrated on June 21, concluded at HUDA Parade Ground here on Tuesday. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal was the chief guest at the event, where training was provided by Yoga Guru Ramdev, who is also the state’s Brand Ambassador of Yoga and Ayurveda. [related-post] Watch Video: What's making news As first reported by The Indian Express on Monday, the director, Ayush, Haryana, on behalf of Dhesi had asked all Additional Chief Secretaries (ACSes) and Principal Secretaries to attend the camp. However, the directions drew criticism from senior officers who questioned the move and argued that it would reduce them to be “RSS stooges”. Among the five ACSes who attended the event were P K Mahapatra, S K Gulati, Ram Niwas, R R Jowel and Dheera Khandelwal while none of the Principal Secretaries was present. As per the Department of Ayush, the government had earmarked a fund of Rs 5 lakh for the three-day event, which began on June 12, with the participation of Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki. However, according to the organisers, the expenditure on the event is likely to exceed, to at least Rs 10 lakh. “There were at least 4,000 participants and several dignitaries. We had made elaborate arrangements, ranging from carpets, power, drinking water and other facilities. The department will move a proposal for more funds once all details are available on expenditure incurred,” said an official. Apart from bags, the participants were provided drinking water and refreshments after the training. There were at least 1,000 participants from Patanjali Yogpeeth. The Haryana Chief Minister also announced his decision to award Rs 5,000 to the participating children of Acharyakulum along with certificates of appreciation to students of Gurukul, Ghaseda. Highlighting the significance of yoga, the CM said there was no such medicine which could make life delightful, but it was possible with the help of yoga. Health Minister Anil Vij, Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, Minister of Urban Local Bodies Kavita Jain and several other leaders, including Krishan Bedi, Vikram Thekedar, Subhash Barala, Karan Dev Kamboj and Nayab Singh Saini, attended the training camp. Chief Parliamentary Secretaries B S Virk, Shyam Singh Rana and Dr Kamal Gupta attended too. Yoga Guru Ramdev justified the large-scale expenditure incurred on the yoga festival. “Ye to paise ka sadupyog hai (This is the right way to use money). There is no wastage of money. Money is being wasted in making movies where people who sing and dance are making money.” Talking to the media, Ramdev also advocated the need for adopting a standard practice of yoga globally and said yoga does not belong to any one organisation. “At present, there are so many organisations and misconceptions. Standardisation is important,” he said. Speaking on the occasion, Health Minister Vij said that the government would appoint at least one Ayurvedic officer in all 450 primary health centres in the state and 1,050 yogshalas would be set up. He also announced the setting up of Ayush University in Kurukshetra.
