Jagan Reddy, KCR to skip Narendra Modi govt's oath ceremony as no-fly zone declared in Delhi

AMRAVATI: YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy, who took oath as Andra Pradesh Chief Minister on Thursday, and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrashekhar Rao are unable to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Council of Ministers.

According to reports, both Jagan and KCR were invited by the Prime Minister's Office for attending the oath-taking ceremony but it has now been reported that the two have cancelled their plans as the national capital has been turned into a no-fly zone in the view of the arrival of several high-profile guests for the event.

The duo was forced to cancel their Delhi trip after a no-fly zone was declared in Delhi from 4 PM. 

Both Jagan and KCR were supposed to leave from Vijayawada for Delhi around 3. KCR is now returning to Hyderabad.     

The swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to be attended by nearly 8,000 guests, including foreign dignitaries and chief ministers and governors. 

A tight and multi-layered security arrangement has been made in the national capital with the deployment of around 10,000 security personnel from Delhi Police and paramilitary forces.

The swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi and his Council of Ministers will take place at 7 PM at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the national capital. "Over 10,000 security personnel from Delhi Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed on account of the swearing-in ceremony," said an official. 

Additionally, Quick Response Teams (QRT) will be deployed at several crucial spots and snipers will also be deployed atop several important buildings as PM Modi will visit Rajghat, Sadaiv Atal Samadhi and National War Memorial to pay homage. Over 2,000 security personnel will also be deployed along the route to be taken by Modi and other foreign dignitaries. A number of heads of states, heads of governments, constitutional authorities, diplomats, senior political leaders, government officials and media persons are scheduled to attend the ceremony.

The oath-taking ceremony will be a grand spectacle at the forecourt of the historic premises and will be attended by four Presidents, three Prime Ministers, a special envoy, India's top political class and the entire diplomatic class. The 4 Presidents at the ceremony are-- Bangladesh President Md Abdul Hamid, Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena, Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov and Myanmar President U Win Myint. The three PMs include Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Bhutan Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering.

While the guests attending the ceremony will be treated to high tea, President Ram Nath Kovind will host a private dinner for the leaders. The size of the gathering is seen as a reflection of the massive mandate received by the Modi government in the Lok Sabha election. Both the BJP and NDA have improved their tally compared to 2014. The event then was attended by about 5,000 guests.

The high tea will have snacks, including samosas, and paneer items apart from sweets, while at the President`s dinner, the visiting foreign dignitaries will be treated to "Dal Raisina" - a special delicacy of the Rashtrapati Bhavan that takes 48 hours to cook - among other delicacies. The Prime Minister will also attend the dinner, along with some officials. The dinner will be light as it will be served a little late in the evening. The dinner will have both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options and include soup, fish, chicken, vegetables and the "Dal Raisina" - a variant of popular 'maa ki dal'.

A traffic advisory has also been issued and several roads in New Delhi will be closed for movement of the public between 4 PM to 9 PM. The advisory said that roads including Rajpath--from Vijay Chowk to Rashtrapati Bhavan, Vijay Chowk and adjoining areas including North and South fountain, South Avenue, North Avenue, Dara-Shikoh Road and Church Road will be closed for public between 4 PM and 9 PM.