Jammu: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday celebrated Diwali with the troops deployed in Jammu and Kashmir’s border district of Rajouri and praised them for their valour, saying it enables the government to take decisions hitherto considered impossible.
Accompanied by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Modi flew to the Army Brigade Headquarters in Rajouri town just a few hours after Pakistani army targeted forward posts in the district.
The shelling from across the border was retaliated by the Indian army.
Wearing a combat jacket, Modi exchanged wishes and sweets during his nearly two-hour-long stay and interaction with the troops deployed along the LoC, officials said.
Addressing the 1,000-strong soldiers, Modi said, “The valour of the Indian defence forces made it possible for the central government to take decisions which were hitherto considered impossible.”
He was was apparently referring to Balakot strike on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed besides abrogation of Article 370 provisions.
He said everyone wants to celebrate Diwali with their family and so he too travelled to be with his family, which is the “brave jawans of the armed forces”.
He visited the ‘Hall of Fame’ in Rajouri and paid homage to the soldiers and brave citizens who laid down their lives to protect Rajouri and Poonch. He termed the Hall of Fame as ‘Parakram Bhoomi, Prerna Bhoomi, Paavan Bhoomi’.
Highlighting the courage and fortitude of the forces in safeguarding national security, Modi thanked them on behalf of the people of the country for their monumental service.
To pay homage to and mark their contributions, the government endeavoured to etch the landmark National War Memorial in Delhi, he said, adding the increasing number of visitors to the memorial shows the respect accorded by the citizens towards the contributions of armed forces.
Later in a series of tweets, Modi said, “Celebrated #Diwali with the brave soldiers of the Indian Army in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir. It is always a matter of great joy to be able to interact with these courageous personnel.”
He also spoke about the steps the NDA government is taking for the welfare of soldiers.
“While interacting with our soldiers, I thanked them on behalf of the people of India for their monumental service. Their vigilance and valour keeps our nation safe!”
In another tweet about his visit to the ‘Hall of Fame’, he said, “Anecdotes about the courage of our soldiers are widely shared but do you also know about the stupendous efforts of our armed forces during natural disasters? Their swift action saves many lives and prevents public property from being destroyed.”
On his way back from Rajouri, Modi interacted with air warriors and personnel of the army at the Pathankot Air Force Station.
He also posted a short video, with a heading “#Diwali is sweeter when celebrated with our brave soldiers”, in which he is seen offering sweets to the soldiers under a camouflaged tent. The soldiers then raised ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ slogans. PTI

Press Trust of India