Rewari celebrated International Yoga Day without its chief guest on Sunday, as Union Minister of State Rao Inderjit Singh skipped the district-level function at Rao Tularam Stadium, raising eyebrows in local political circles.
With Singh failing to turn up, Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Meena inaugurated the programme in his place. When contacted by The Tribune, Singh’s team said the minister was unwell and could not make it to the event.
The no-show comes amid confusion over Singh’s chief guest assignment for the district’s Yoga Day functions. He was initially slated to be chief guest at the Gurugram event before being reallotted to Rewari at a later stage. He, however, could not make it to either function, with Gaurav Gautam eventually named chief guest for the Gurugram programme instead.
Singh’s absence appeared to set the tone for the rest of the Rewari event, with senior BJP office-bearers and workers largely missing from the gathering. District president Vandana Popli was the only prominent party face seen at the venue through the proceedings.
Attendance thinned further after Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s virtual address concluded, with several participants leaving midway instead of staying on for the rest of the programme — a visual that did little to reflect the seriousness the party claims to attach to Yoga Day, considered one of its key annual outreach events.
Despite the political undertone, the event drew a steady turnout of residents, with elderly citizens and children performing asanas together under pleasant weather, even as organisers grappled with what attendees described as poor on-ground arrangements. Volunteers were seen distributing T-shirts to participants even as the yoga session was underway.
The programme concluded with the national anthem, after which the forest department distributed saplings to guests and participants. The event was held under the joint aegis of the Haryana Yog Aayog and the AYUSH Department, marking the 12th International Yoga Day.
