Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya LIVE updates: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath made three major announcements: Faizabad district will be renamed as Sri Ayodhya, a new airport will be named after Lord Rama, and a medical college in Ayodhya will be named after Rama’s father Raja Dashratha. Adityanath begun his speech by thanking First Lady of South Korea Kim Jung-sook, and top BJP leaders for being in attendance. Kim Jung-sook, arrived at the Amausi Airport in Lucknow to a rousing reception on Monday evening. She was received by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who welcomed her with a bouquet. Kim, who arrived in India Sunday on a four-day visit, is scheduled to participate in Diwali festivities and the ground-breaking ceremony of a memorial for a Korean queen in Ayodhya Tuesday. “Affectionate bonding. EAM @SushmaSwaraj calls on the First Lady of the Republic of Korea, Mrs Kim Jung-sook. India and ROK (Republic of Korea) share a special strategic partnership since 2015 and our relations have deepened and diversified in recent years,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had tweeted earlier. “The First Lady’s participation in the festivities in Ayodhya will showcase our close civilisational links as well as the ongoing deepening engagement between our two countries,” the MEA had said last week. According to Korean legends, princess Suriratna from Ayodhya had travelled to Korea, married king Kim Suro and became queen Heo Hwang-ok some 2,000 years ago. The First Lady of South Korea will also attend the “Deepotsav” event in Ayodhya Tuesday evening. She will leave for Agra Wednesday for a visit to the Taj Mahal, before flying back home.
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