Report says AYUSH doesn’t recruit Muslims as yoga trainers, minister denies claim

The BJP-led government at the centre is again in the midst of a controversy after a report claimed that the AYUSH ministry didn’t recruit Muslims.

A report in the Milli Gazette, a fortnightly newspaper which focusses on issues of the minority community, claims that the AYUSH ministry replied that it didn’t hire Muslims as a policy.

However, Sripad Naik, the minister-in-charge of AYUSH denied the claims saying: “It’s an attempt to defame us, I will order a probe into the matter. It is totally false, I strongly condemn it.”

Its an attempt to defame us, I will order a probe into this-Sripad Naik,Ayush Minister pic.twitter.com/N6M2psbYim

— ANI (@ANI_news) March 12, 2016

It is totally false,I strongly condemn it-Sripad Naik,Ayush Minister on reports of RTI response that its against Govt policy to hire Muslims

— ANI (@ANI_news) March 12, 2016

Milli Gazette’s report also carries images of the RTI replies. However, DNA couldn’t independently verify the documents.

The ministry was quoted saying: “As per government policy - No Muslim candidate was invited, selected or sent abroad.”

The article claims that 711 Muslims had applied for the short-term overseas assignment as yoga trainers, and that the ministry had rejected till Oct 2015, the applications of 3,841 Muslim candidates who had applied to be yoga trainers.

The Milli Gazette commented, “Here we have for the first time in the life of this government, a written, blunt RTI reply in our hands which unashamedly says that it’s Modi government policy to not recruit Muslims in government jobs”.

The United Nations had declared June 21 as World Yoga Day and Modi had said that the recognition was proof that ‘the world is curious to know about India and we must tell the world about our culture, we have to be proud of our culture.’