Prime Minister Narendra Modi smiles as he shakes hands with Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav during the pre-wedding ceremony of Tej Pratap Singh Yadav, grand-nephew of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Raj Laxmi, daughter of Lalu Prasad, in Saifai, yesterday. Also seen are Mulayam Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and state Governor Ram Naik.
IANS/Etawah, Uttar Pradesh
Over 500 superior quality Swiss cottages were setup at Saifai, the native village of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for the pre-wedding ceremony of his grandnephew yesterday which was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Over 100,000 invitations were sent out for the ‘tilak’ ceremony of Tej Pratap Singh, Lok Sabha MP from Mainpuri, at Saifai, some 25km from Etawah. He will marry Raj Laxmi, the youngest daughter of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, on February 26 in New Delhi.
Modi arrived in Saifai on a special Indian Air Force (IAF) plane. He was welcomed by Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family members.
Modi wished the groom and interacted with other guests, including Lalu Prasad.
The prime minister also spoke to the children of the Yadav family and photographers went into frenzy as they caught the prime minister in a jovial mood, chatting with the children.
Elaborate arrangements have been put in place for the lavish event.
Other than the Swiss cottages, 250 common cottages for relatives have also been erected. All hotels in Etawah, Mainpuri, Kannauj and Firozabad are booked for the guests.
A special stage has been erected in the 80,000sq ft area and food will be served to the guests in German hangars which are water and fire proof.
Five super speciality ambulances, 500 vehicles, over 3,000 policemen and 12 Indian Police Service officials have been deployed on security duty.
Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan had some trouble as his plane was not allowed by the security agencies to land at the Saifai air strip.
His private air plane was diverted to Lucknow from where he later took a chopper to reach the native village of the Yadavs.
Bollywood actor Salman Khan, federal Home Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajnath Singh, industrialist Anil Ambani, West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Babu Lal Gaur and Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh also attend the function.
Chefs from five star hotels in Mumbai and New Delhi prepared a lavish feast for the guests.