Lucknow, Jan 13 (IANS): Lucknow has found a new selfie point - the statue of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that is installed inside the Lok Bhawan which houses the chief minister's office.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has now thrown open the gates of Lok Bhawan for the common man on every Sunday and hundreds flocked to take a selfie with the 25 feet tall statue of Vajpayee.

The bronze statue was unveiled on Vajpayee's birth anniversary on December 25 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It has been sculpted by Raj Kumar of Jaipur and costs around Rs 95 lakh.

Rishi Mehrotra, a business man, who visited Lok Bhawan with his family and took selfies with the statue, said, "My grandfather was a friend of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and it is a special moment or us to be here today."

Meanwhile, the state government has beefed up the security of Lok Bhawan and more than 100 police personnel have been deployed on the front gate where the statue is installed.

Visitors who come to see the statue will not be allowed to go into the Lok Bhawan and all visitors will be thoroughly frisked before entering the gates of the palatial building.

Details of each visitor will be noted in a register and CCTV cameras will keep a watch on the movement of visitors.