Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged Kashmiris to take inspiration from Egypt and transform yoga into a tourist attraction, potentially generating new livelihoods.

His comments came amid concerns from Valley politicians about the treatment of government officials at a recent yoga event on the banks of the Dal Lake, highlighting a divide in perspectives on yoga.

Modi spoke at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar after rain delayed outdoor yoga, prompting participants, including girls in hijabs, to improvise with yoga mats.

Addressing the gathering of waiting participants on the lawns of the SKICC, Modi said: “Two days ago I saw a video from Egypt. They organised a competition and awarded the best yoga photographs and videos from iconic tourist places in the country. I saw boys and girls from Egypt, in pictures and videos, standing in front of the iconic pyramids. It was so attractive.

“For Kashmir, yoga can become such a big source of livelihood. It can become a centre of attraction for the tourists,” he added.

The PM appeared to have cited an example from a Muslim nation to allay local concerns over an alleged project to saffronise Kashmir.

Modi praised the local participants for “holding their ground” despite the rain. He said the rain delayed the event, which had to be “fragmented into two to three parts”.

“The weather was a little challenging but you stood your ground. I was watching our girls who used yoga mats as a cover against the rain. But they did not leave and stood their ground,” he said.

The PM later clicked selfies with the women participants.

Local politicians, however, appeared angry after videos showed participants having a tough time at the event.

“Reports and videos surfaced showing employees forced into walking barefoot in an event organised for the Prime Minister. The way this administration has treated the employees shows its disregard for respect and basic rights of the employees. And this behaviour is unacceptable. If these reports are true, @PMOIndia should apologise for this disrespectful treatment of the employees,” Srinagar’s newly elected MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi posted on X.

Ruhullah uploaded a video showing several employees, mostly women and apparently doctors, walking barefoot in a muddy parking lot.

Despite local criticisms and claims of mistreatment, government officials maintained that the participation was voluntary, while several schools in Srinagar remained closed during the PM’s visit as a precautionary measure.

Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said “an occasion for celebration has become one that fills people with dread”.

“A day before International Yoga Day, all govt employees along with schoolchildren have been ordered to show up at different venues at ungodly hours (pre-dawn),” she had posted on X.

“Even pregnant employees have not been spared. A pregnant employee was threatened to choose between her job or being present at the event,” she wrote.