Bengaluru: Amidst allegations that Yoga is being used as a political tool and is also being saffronised by the BJP, the coalition government in Karnataka is contemplating to make Yoga compulsory for college students.

Minister for Higher Education GT Devegowda spoke about the same during a meeting of Vice-Chancellors and Registrars of all the state universities in Bengaluru.

GTD informed that the state government will issue an order in this regard soon.

“Presently only a few colleges are teaching Yoga to the students. There is no uniformity. So, the state government will issue an order making Yoga compulsory in all the colleges,” he said.

Minister’s statement is expected to trigger a new controversy as both the JDS and the Congress in the state have been targetting the BJP for politicising Yoga and using it as a saffron tool.

This apart, the minister directed all the VCs and Registrars to submit a report on the faculty shortage, the number of students enrolled every year, number of students getting job etc within the next 15 days. He also directed the authorities not to recruit teachers without UGC qualification while making both regular and guest faculty appointments.