Lucknow: Former Nepal king Gyanendra paid a courtesy call on Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath here on Tuesday.
Adityanath is also the head priest of Gorakhpur’s Gorakhnath Mutt that is revered by erstwhile royals of the Hindu-majority Himalayan nation.
“The two have known each other for decades and it was a personal meeting between them. The visiting dignitary is on a private visit to Lucknow,” UP’s principal secretary information Awanish Awasthi told HT.
The former Nepalese ruler is putting up at a city hotel along with his family. It’s not clear if he will visit Gorakhpur on the occasion of Makar Sankranti that falls on January 14. Former Nepalese king Birendra, who was assassinated in 2001, used to regularly visit the Mutt during Makar Sankranti.
In fact, in 1992, Birendra had driven down from Kathmandu to the Gorakhnath Mutt.
The UP chief minister’s office tweeted a photo of the Gyanendra-Adityanath meeting during which the UP chief minister is believed to have invited former Nepalese royal to visit the Kumbh Mela to be held in 2019 in Allahabad. Adityanath also presented a logo of the Kumbh to the ex king.
The Nath sect, to which Adityanath belongs, has a huge following in Nepal where Adityanath paid occasional visits as Gorakhpur MP.
{{/usCountry}}The Nath sect, to which Adityanath belongs, has a huge following in Nepal where Adityanath paid occasional visits as Gorakhpur MP.
{{/usCountry}}“King Gyanendra had organised a ‘Virat Hindu Mahasammelan’ a few years ago in Nepal and had specially invited Adityanath. The Mutt is located in an area close the Indo-Nepal border. Hence, Adityanath commands great respect among erstwhile Nepalese royals who, as Gorakhas, trace their origin to Guru Gorakshnath, the founder of the Nath monastic order in the Himalayan region,” an official said.