Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao attracted the attention of participants to the official Republic Day celebration at the Parade Grounds here by leaving the venue even before the function was over.
Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan had completed reading the 16-page text of his address and was to present appreciation trophies and prizes to contingents that staged a march past when Mr. Rao left. Behind him, all the Ministers and leaders walked till the convoy of vehicles of Mr. Rao even as the Governor stood on the pedestal from where he took the salute as part of the march past.
The scene was witnessed before the national anthem was played to mark the conclusion of the function. The Ministers and other VIPs returned to their seats after seeing off Mr. Rao. Governor's wife Vimala Narasimhan was seen enquiring with Mr. Rao’s son and Minister K.T. Rama Rao who greeted her with folded hands when the group returned.
The hour-long celebration was without the traditional cultural performances by schoolchildren. This was attributed to the delayed commencement of the function because Mr. Narasimhan also had to participate in the Republic Day celebrations of the Andhra Pradesh government in Vijayawada. He arrived by helicopter at Begumpet and drove straight to the Parade Grounds.
Tent pegging by horse riding cadets of National Cadet Corps (NCC) and a demonstration of the functioning of a snorkel of fire services were the only other performances apart from the march past.
