Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, accompanied by his family, is on a private visit to Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala, independent MP Ákos Hadházy reported in a Facebook post, quoting an article from the Indian newspaper Mano-
rama.
The report mentions Orbán’s arrival with his wife, Aniko Lévai, two daughters, and a five-person entourage, with plans to tour India until January 16.
It remains unclear whether the whole family is involved in the trip.
A tuktuk driver who picked up the prime minister at the five-star Fragrant Nature Hotel, told the local newspaper that Orbán joked about getting into the “Ferrari”. They viewed a few local landmarks, while the prime minister’s bodyguards followed them
in several other tuk-tuks, writes Hadházy in his recent post. The MP said rooms at the hotel can be
booked for around Ft 100,000 forints per night, which, along with the bodyguards’ accommo-
dation, can be quite a significant sum.
“However,” he wrote, “a more important question is: what the hell is the prime minister of a country in danger of war doing in a fivestar hotel in India”
It is unusual for Hungary’s leader to be absent from politics for such an extended period, HVG observes. Orbán’s staff had recently posted photographs indicating that work would continue during the festive season, including meetings with cabinet ministers after Christ-mas.
Orbán’s press chief, did not reveal any details of the prime minister’s private travels, and the prime minister’s official calendar is not available to the public, as is customary in other countries and EU institutions.
The latest official news about Orbán posted on the government’s website dates back to December 24.
Orbán was photographed at the airport with Krishna Kumar, head of a centre in Buda-
pest and Albertirsa that deals with traditional Indian medicine, Ayurveda, Hadházy wrote on
his Facebook page on Sunday.
Kumar’s partner in his Hungarian business enterprise, Brahmayurveda Centre, is György Gattyán, the pornography entrepreneur who has dabbled in politics, HVG reports.