Yoga day splurging a misuse of public money, says Mayawati

Lucknow: BSP chief Mayawati on Tuesday said that the organisation of International Yoga Day function in the state capital was a misuse of public money. “Instead of fulfilling its prime constitutional duty by using its power, resources and time towards providing jobs to crores of jobless poor, farmers, labourers to help them get two square meals, the Modi government is using government funds and machinery on the well-off people,” Maywati said in a press note here, condemning the alleged misuse.Joining issues with farmers' organisations who have opposed the Yoga Day functions, Mayawati said their protest against the “anti-poor and anti-farmers” function and policy was fully justified. Lashing out at the “wrong policies and working” of the BJP-led government which, she claimed have further compounded the problems of the jobless and farmers and has also forced them to commit suicide, Mayawati said farmers will now hold peaceful dharna at the Niti Ayog and Jantar Mantar in Delhi from next month to draw government's attention over it.Alleging dwindling job opportunities and employment crunch in the IT sector also, Mayawati said under such trying times, the BJP governments at the Centre and state have “adopted lax attitude and using government funds, machinery and time on programmes like yoga.”“RSS should have been made responsible for such functions rather than BJP governments...why must the various government facilities and exemptions that RSS is getting be only allowed to sow seeds of hatred?,” she asked.