Happy Diwali: PM pays visit to border jawans, dedicates festival to armed forces

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Modi celebrates Diwali
Modi celebrates Diwali

Los angeles : In a heartfelt gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent Diwali with Indian Army jawans of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Dogra Scouts.

These jawans have been deployed at forward posts along the Sino-Indian border in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti in Himachal Pradesh. 

The PM’s visit comes at a time when tensions have been flaking with Pakistan and sentiments have been running high within the Army.

In his latest Mann Ki Baat, he also dedicated a large part of his talk hailing the soldiers, their sacrifices and saluting their bravery and courage.

He asked people to remember Army soldiers’ gallantry while celebrating Diwali by mentioning, “In the wake of recent events, our soldiers have been sacrificing their everything for the safety and security of the country. Their dedication and valour has overwhelmed me completely. Let us dedicate this Diwali to our armed forces.”

“Our forces endure grave hardships for our security. Someone is stationed in a desert, someone on the Himalayas, someone is guarding our industrial installations and someone is protecting our airports. Everyone is fulfilling a mighty responsibility. If we remember them while being in a festive mood, our remembrance will give them strength and renewed energy,” he added.

Interestingly, PM’s visit was kept secret and only came into light after his chopper landed at Chango, near Sumdo where he spent 15-20 minutes with jawans and distributed sweets. Sumdo is a base camp of the Army and ITBP in Lahaul-Spiti. 

 What Modi said?

“Because you guard our borders, people sleep at night. If you were not on the borders, people couldn’t have slept.” 

‘One Rank, One pension’ (OROP): “When I asked for the file, I realised the liability was not Rs 200 crore or Rs 500 crore. It was Rs 10,000 crore. I consulted Army officers, suggesting that the arrears be paid in four instalments. I compliment the Army officers who agreed, and now the arrears were being deposited in instalments.”

Modi lauds Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel a day before his 141th birth anniversary: “We do commemorate the death anniversary of great human beings. A Sardar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel… History is witness to it that after Chanakya, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel made the stupendous effort to unite the country.”

On Sikh Guru Nanak Dev: “There can be no better guide than Guru Nanak Dev if one has to move forward with “sabka saath, sabka vikas” to end discrimination.”

Clean India Mission: “The call of time is to extend this campaign of cleanliness out of one’s house to one’s surroundings.” 

Happy Deepawali: He also talked at length on how the festival of Diwali has illuminated minds of people across the world and the importance it is being given by the heads of various countries.