Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron visited Jaipur on Thursday and made road show. French President Emmanuel Macron is the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations in Delhi on January 26^th.

Macron directly landed at Jaipur from Paris on his visit to India as a Chief Guest in Republic Day celebrations. Later PM Modi arrived at Jaipur and the two leaders took part in a road show in Jaipur. Modi presented a replica of Ayodhya’s Ram temple and he paid ₹ 500 for the artifact digitally, through UPI and Modi offered masala chai from a teashop to Macron. Sahu chaiwala, who had set up a temporary stall for the occasion, accepted ₹ 2 as token payment for the masala tea offered to the leaders. Again, the payment was digital.

Macron also visited the hilltop Amber Palace, Jantar Mantar observatory and Hawa Mahal in a carefully curated tour that ended at an iconic palace-turned-hotel. In the evening, Modi and Macron  were driven in an open-top vehicle through a short stretch in the heart of the city, beginning from Jantar Mantar, the 18th century astronomical observatory which is now a Unesco heritage site.

They stood in the vehicle, chatting and waving at people who lined the route. PM Modi and Macron got down in front of the breezy Hawa Mahal. They admired the lit-up five-storey building with nearly 1,000 windows and Jjharokhas. Modi and Macron boarded the open-top vehicle again to continue the roadshow up to Sanganeri Gate. From there, they were to be driven to Rambagh Palace for dinner and the bilateral talks.

Earlier, in the afternoon, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra and Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma received French delegation at the Jaipur airport. Modi met up with Macron at Jantar Mantar, where the two shook hands, hugged and then took a brief tour of the observatory. His delegation had headed straight from the airport to the fort, the seat of Kachhwa Rajputs before Jaipur was founded nearby. A red carpet was laid out and caparisoned elephants lined up at the fort for the French president.