In a gesture to acknowledge the spectators gathered at Rajpath to witness 68th Republic Day parade, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked down on the street and waived his hands to greet them.
The 68th Republic Day was celebrated on Thursday across the nation. Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was the Chief Guest at the annual parade in New Delhi.
The highlights of this year’s Republic Day parade include a 149-member United Arab Emirates Presidential Guard. Also, India’s elite counter-terrorism force, the National Security Guard (NSG), too made its debut at the Republic Day parade.
The Prime Minister walks down Rajpath during the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/pLpRXum1hu
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 26, 2017
Besides them, India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C) developed indigenously, also made their maiden appearance at the parade.
#Tejas steals the show at #RepublicDay 2017 parade! 10 special facts about India’s indigenous light combat aircrafthttps://t.co/uMNC1igQIP pic.twitter.com/Pc2yRHMd5t
— Financial Express (@FinancialXpress) January 26, 2017
The flypast at the parade that left the spectators enthralled despite an overcast sky and light drizzle, included Mi-17 V5 helicopters that flew with the Indian flag and showered flower petals on the dignitaries and spectators along Rajpath, Advanced Light Helicopters Rudra and Dhruv, Mi-35 attack helicopters, C-130J and C-17 transport aircraft and fighter jets Sukhoi, Jaguars and Mig 29s.
Despite overcast conditions, three fighter jets flew at a height of 300 metres from the ground at a speed of 780 km per hour in ‘VIC’ formation, leaving the spectators at Rajpath boulevard in awe.
Meanwhile, Bollywood celebrities like Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan have greeted their fans on the occasion of the Republic Day and also saluted the armed forces.
Earlier, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa tower being lit up in the Indian Tricolour colours became the most trending topic on Facebook.
Pictures of the Burj Khalifa tower, the world’s tallest building located in Dubai glowing, were widely circulated on the social media. Over 70,000 people were talking about it on social networking site Facebook on Thursday morning.
