New Delhi, Jan 25 (PTI) East Delhi Mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal on Tuesday went down memory lane and recalled the Republic Day of 1972, saying he had attended the celebrations on Rajpath for the first time along with his father and sister when his family's "financial condition was poor".

In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said, it is a matter of pride that on January 26, he would now attend the ceremony as a mayor.

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"In 1972, our family condition was not good, and I and my sister had gone to Rajpath, wanting to see the Republic Day parade. We had walked from our home in east Delhi to Rajpath, and my father carried groundnut on the cycle carrier to sell at the venue. I and my sister made the packet which were then sold," Aggarwal claimed.

It is an emotional moment that from selling groundnuts at the venue 50 years ago, (Wednesday) tomorrow "I will be attending it as mayor of east Delhi," he said.

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The BJP leader, nearing 60, said, the last time he had attended the parade was in 2017 when he was a councillor.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)