Ranchi: Iconic cartoon characters Motu and Patlu performed yoga with Prime Minister Narendra here on the occasion of the fifth International Yoga Day here Friday. The characters were in the middle of the Prabhat Tara ground where Modi participated in a massive yoga event comprising 30,000 people.
“The Motu and Patlu characters were present in the ground to attract children towards yoga,” the Jharkhand government said in a statement. The session continued for around 45 minutes.
Modi was accompanied by Jharkhand Governor Draupdi Murmu, Chief Minister Raghubar das, Ayush Minister Sripad Naik, Health Minister Ramchandra Kesari, along with other senior government officials.
Meanwhile in New Delhi thousands of people celebrated the fifth International Yoga Day, by participating in various events to mark the day. Some 18,000 individuals took part in an event organised in Rajpath where they performed yoga. The participants included Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
It is for the first time that the event did not use plastic yoga mats as they were replaced with Khadi mats.
President Ram Nath Kovind, who took part in an indoor event in Parliament, said in a tweet: “On #International Day of Yoga best wishes to all practitioners of yoga across the world. Yoga is India’s gift to humanity; it holds the key to healthy living and to that fine balance between mind and body. Do become a part of the celebration of yoga.”
In another event organised by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), Union Minister Piyush Goyal and MP Manoj Tiwari along with several other hundred participants performed yoga at the Talkatora Stadium.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Smriti Irani posted pictures of her doing yoga with other participants at an event in Bijwasan. “Celebrated #YogaDay2019 by performing Yoga with citizens of Bijwasan in Delhi, she captioned the image.”
Newly-appointed Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla participated in an event on Parliament premises.
The Delhi Police also marked the day at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex, where the chief guest was Amulya Patnaik, the Commissioner of Police, Delhi.
IANS