JOIN USPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chose to walk down Rajpath for over 400 metres to greet the cheering crowd after the parade concluded at noon.
President Pranab Mukherjee was the first to leave the saluting dais followed by chief guest US President Barack Obama along with wife Michelle. Modi was waiting for his cavalcade when chants of “Modi, Modi” filled the air. Modi soon boarded his cavalcade, but then chose to add a special touch to the festivities by walking down Rajpath.
He waved at the crowd for around 400 metres. No other prime minister has left the cavalcade during Republic Day parade in the past. Modi’s act was appreciated by people who were eager to get a glimpse of the VVIPs in the area.
“I had come here hoping to get a glimpse of Obama. I could not see him, but saw ‘the Beast’. But the real surprise came when Modi was seen on Rajpath. It is a memory that I will cherish forever,” Nisha Tiwari, who came from Delhi Cantonment, told Deccan Herald.
Unprecedented security was also witnessed in the area as Rajpath was divided into 13 zones and each zone was manned by a team headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police rank officer.
Over 2,000 security personnel were guarding the saluting dais, while agents of the US Secret Service were also regularly seen in the enclosures. Police said around 50,000 security personnel were deployed in New Delhi police district.