Yogi Adityanath hosts dinner for Modi, invites ex-CMs

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday hosted a dinner for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be participating in International Yoga Day in Lucknow. Invites for it were sent to all former chief ministers, including SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mr Adityanath’s predecessor Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawti and other dignitaries. The three leaders reportedly accepted the invitations.

The dinner is also seen as an exercise by the BJP to garner support for its presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind, who hails from the state. The SP and BSP, two major regional outfits of the UP, are yet to officially announce whether or not they will support the NDA nominee.

On Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister will participate in a yoga camp in Lucknow along with the chief minister and more than 50,000 people to mark the yoga day.

Soon after reaching Lucknow on Tuesday, Mr Modi proceeded to Central Drug Research Institute and inaugurated the new campus of APJ Kalam Technical University.

He also planted a sapling of a medicinal plant in the CDRI premises, flanked by governor Ram Naik and Mr Yogi Adityanath. Mr Modi also distributed sanction letters for houses under the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana and inaugurated a 400 KV power line.

Hours before the PM landed in the state capital, UP police detained 22 persons over apprehensions that there may be an attempt to block his convoy or create some other kind of disturbance.