Modi stops briefly at Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday briefly stopped at his parliamentary constituency here in Uttar Pradesh on his way to poll-bound Chhattisgarh, an official said.

He reached the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport at Babatpur here in a special Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft and stayed for a little over 15 minutes, the official added.

Then he boarded an IAF chopper and left for Chhattisgarh where he was scheduled to address a rally at Ambikapur, the official told IANS.

Although the Prime Minister did not even venture out of the airport, elaborate security arrangements were made. 

The Special Protection Group (SPG) had taken over the security of the inner ring at the tarmac, while the provincial armed constabulary (PAC) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) were on duty in and around the airport.-IANS