'Are You Planning Head To Himalayas?': PM Modi Jokes With Pawan Kalyan

New Delhi: During the grand oath ceremony of Delhi's new Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on February 20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged in a light-hearted banter Andhra Pradesh's Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan. A clip of their interaction grabbed the media's attention.

The actor-actor-turned-politician, who now follows a spiritual path, was seen wearing simple yellow and saffron cotton attire as part of his Deeksha (a religious observance).

Commenting on Kalyan's look, PM Modi jokingly asked him if he was planning to leave everything and head to the Himalayas.

"The prime minister always jokes with me. Today, he looked at my outfit and asked if I was planning to leave everything behind and head to the Himalayas," Kalyan said.

In response, he playfully reassured PM Modi and said, "There’s still work to do," adding that the Himalayas could wait.

Have a look:

At the gala event, which was held at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, PM Modi also shared a cordial moment with Maharashtra's Deputy CM and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde. He was also seen with Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu.

The ceremony was also attended by many Bollywood A-listers, high-profile BJP leaders and other NDA allies.

Along with Gupta, Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra, Ravinder Indraj Singh, and Pankaj Singh were sworn in as the Cabinet Ministers by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.

Gupta, a 50-year-old MLA from Shalimar Bagh, is Delhi's fourth woman chief minister and the sole female leader among the NDA's chief ministers.

The BJP made a historic comeback in the national capital after almost three decades by defeating the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the 2025 Delhi Assembly Elections.

Published on: Thursday, February 20, 2025, 04:19 PM IST