As he got down from the ramparts of the 17th century monument on conclusion of his address and left at around 9:13 AM, Modi halted his motorcade after it covered only a few metres to reach an enclosure from where children cheered him on.
Modi greeted and shook hands with them, breaking away from the close security cover.
Puja, a 12-year-old student from a city school, was overjoyed by the opportunity of "meeting the Prime Minister".
Another student, Rajesh, was disappointed that he could not shake hands with Modi as he was seated in one of the back rows. "Nevertheless, I was happy to see him from a close distance," he said.
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The children were dressed in yellow and dark blue attire and formed a figure of 70, referring to the number of years since Independence. They cheered Modi on several times during his 90-odd minute speech.
Nearly 150 students were killed in the December 2014 terrorist attack at Army Public School in the Pakistan city.