"As far as this programme in Panchkula was concerned, this was just to give knowledge of Yoga and also to make everyone familiar in protocol of the programme, which will be organised on June 21 in Chandigarh.
"This was a government programme, not a RSS programme. The Ayush Department organised this. No party was organising this. I do agree that many officers attended it, but there was no compulsion," Vij told reporters.
He was asked to comment on the letter sent to 21 Additional Chief Secretaries and 15 Principal Secretaries yesterday from the office of Director, AYUSH, Haryana, on behalf of the Chief Secretary D S Dhesi, which stated that he had desired that these officers are expected to join the Yoga training camp conducted by Haryana's brand ambassador for promotion of Yoga and Ayurveda, Ramdev, in Panchkula.
"We have specifically organised this programme for MLAs, Ministers, MPs, IPS, IAS officers, Judges, High Court Bar Association, and others, but there was no compulsion to attend," Vij stated.
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Vij said even today many senior officers attended the Yoga camp in Panchkula, where Yoga Guru Ramdev and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar were present.
"Besides the Chief Secretary, senior bureaucrats including Ram Niwas, Dheera Khandelwal and P K Mahapatra were there," the minister said.
Many Ministers, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, MLAs and others attended the Yoga camp in Panchkula, which concluded today.
The Prime Minister himself would perform Yoga with more than 31,000 participants at Capitol Complex, Chandigarh on June 21, Vij said, adding as many as 10,500 participants from Haryana would participate in the programme.