Yogi's Oath Ceremony: BJP Leadership, Seers, 'Kashmir Files' Team On Guest List. Security Tightened | Key Points
Cut-outs of PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Adityanath have been put up along the road and the stadium has been decorated with lights.
New Delhi: Several stalwarts of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will attend the mega ceremony being organised for Yogi Adityanath's oath as Uttar Pradesh chief minister for the second consecutive term on Friday.
According to reports, the event will be attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and CMs of BJP-ruled states.
Additionally, invitations have been sent to as many as 60 top industrialists, including Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, to attend the mega event scheduled to take place at Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
"Invitations to dignitaries are being sent both by the party and the state government. Chief ministers of all BJP-ruled states have been invited. Invites have also been sent to opposition leaders in the state," UP BJP general secretary JPS Rathore told news agency PTI.
UP CM-designate Adityanath has personally sent invitations to 50 seers from Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi. Prominent seers, along with senior members of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust, have been invited for the ceremony, a state-level functionary of VHP informed.
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has also been invited.
"The Kashmir Files" Director Vivek Agnihotri, Actor Anupam Kher Invited
The BJP has also invited the team of the recently released runaway hit Bollywood movie "The Kashmir Files". The Director of the film Vivek Agnihotri, his wife Pallavi Joshi and actor Anupam Kher have been invited for the event, which is expected to be the grandest in terms of numbers since 2007.
Akhilesh Yadav, Jayant Chaudhary Not To Attend The Event
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and his ally RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary said they won't attend the swearing-in ceremony.
Akhilesh had attended Adityanath's oath ceremony in 2017 along with his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. BJP party workers from different states have also been invited to the mega event.
Preparations Underway
The stadium has the capacity to accommodate as many as 50,000 people. A stage for the VIPs has been prepared in the northern end of the stadium.
A small area right before the main stage has been allocated to the media. While four pitches of the cricket stadium have been barricaded, seating arrangements have been made on the entire ground.
The underpasses of Shaheed Path are also being painted. The ceremony is expected to begin from 4 pm onwards. Cut-outs of PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Adityanath have been put up along the road and the stadium has been decorated with lights.
In 2017, the oath-taking ceremony was held at Kanshiram Smriti Upvan.
Tight Security Arrangements
In view of the mega swearing-in ceremony, Uttar Pradesh Police has made tight security arrangements.
Around 8,000 personnel of the Uttar Pradesh Police, Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) along with specialised units like the Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) have been deployed.
"The access to the venue will be strictly regulated with ATS commandos manning all sensitive spots. Each visitor will be screened before being allowed to enter the venue. Door frame metal detectors and handheld metal detectors are being set up at every entry point," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar told PTI.
Police have also installed CCTV cameras in and around the venue. According to officials, a three-layer security will be put in place at the venue.
The Lucknow police commissionerate has also issued a detailed traffic diversion plan for the entire day. It has also launched a helpline for people stuck in traffic.
UP Election Results
The BJP-led alliance had won as many as 273 of 403 seats in the just-concluded Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. The alliance led by the main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) managed to bag 125 seats.
Meanwhile, Congress managed to win only two seats, five short of its 2017 tally. The BSP got only a single seat, a huge fall from its 2017 tally of 19.