Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has sought an explanation from the secretary of the directorate of training and technical education for allegedly trying to “discontinue” the AAP dispensation’s flagship yoga programme ‘Dilli Ki Yogshala’, government sources said on Tuesday.

There was no immediate reaction available from the officer, Alice Vaz, on the matter.

In a note on Tuesday, Sisodia said he was informed that in a meeting of the Board of Governors of Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University (DPSRU) on September 30, it was decided to discontinue the programme on the “insistence” of the officer.

The deputy chief minister also said in the note that he was informed that many members of the Board wanted to continue the current programme but the training and technical education (TTE) secretary took a “strong stand” against continuing it.

The Dilli Ki Yogshala programme was announced by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on December 13 last year for providing free-of-cost yoga instructors to the people of Delhi. Currently, 590 yoga classes are being run daily with more than 17,000 participants.

Sisodia said the Delhi Assembly had passed a budget for DPSRU to start the Centre for Meditation and Yoga Sciences (CMYS) mandated to conduct certification and diploma programmes to train yoga instructors.

Even the prime minister promotes adoption of yoga by way of organising promotional events on International Day of Yoga, he said.

“Despite knowing this, the Secretary TTE is wrongly and forcibly trying to discontinue the ‘Dilli ki Yogshala’ programme and sabotage the efforts of the Delhi government to provide yoga classes for the benefit of thousands of Delhiites,” read the note by Sisodia.

He directed the officer to submit her explanation within 24 hours as to why the yoga programme has to be discontinued when section 6(4) of the DPSRU Act empowers the university to undertake extramural studies and extension services.

He also asked why a decision to discontinue the programme was taken by the secretary without any discussion with the minister in-charge of the department.

It was observed by Sisodia that the TTE secretary, as a Delhi government representative at the Board of Governors of the university, was responsible for representing the government’s stand to continue the programme and rather increase its scope.

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