PM Modi’s banter with Pawan Kalyan at Delhi CM oath ceremony: ‘Are you planning to go to Himalayas?’

PM Modi and Pawan Kalyan were present at the oath taking ceremony of Delhi CM Rekha Gupta

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan and other top leaders of NDA across the country attended the swearing-in ceremony of Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta.

At the event, PM Modi’s lighthearted exchange with Pawan Kalyan grabbed everyone’s attention. When asked about their conversation, actor-politician Kalyan told CNN-News18, “The Prime Minister always cracks jokes with me. Today, he looked at my attire and asked me if I was leaving everything and going to the Himalayas.”

Living a pious life as part of his Deeksha (spiritual practice) and clad in simple cotton clothes, Kalyan reassured the Prime Minister, quipping, “There’s still work to be done—the Himalayas can wait.”

Kalyan has been on a spiritual journey of late, traveling to temples in South India. He also participated in the Maha Kumbh Mela currently underway in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj with his family.

“When I was around 16-17 old, I read about Maha Kumbh in Swami Yogananda's autobiography. I had desired to visit Maha Kumbh. A lot of spiritual gurus would come here and this has been my long-cherished dream. The moment I experienced it, the only feeling I got was no matter how famous or rich you are, this particular experience can never be replaced,” he said after taking a holy dip at Triveni Sangam.

PM Modi, Pawan Kalyan, Devendra Fadnavis, Chandrababu Naidu, Pramod Sawant, Nayab Singh Saini, Conrad Sangma came together in the national capital to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Delhi CM Rekha Gupta.

Along with Gupta, Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra and Pankaj Singh were also administered the oath of office by Lt Governor V K Saxena.

Gupta is Delhi’s fourth woman chief minister. The 50-year-old MLA from Shalimar Bagh is also the only woman in the NDA team of chief ministers.