Bengaluru: Ever since he took over as the Prime Minister of the country, Narendra Modi has made it a point to spend Diwali with the forces. 

This year, he spent Diwali with the Army personnel guarding the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. It was a surprise visit. 

 

 

One of the soldiers said after meeting the PM, “We are happy and proud after meeting him. We have never thought of meeting the Prime Minister whose visit makes our Diwali a memorable one.” 
Another soldier said, “The Prime Minister is very good and lauded our role in safeguarding the borders of our country. He assured that his government is behind us and will do whatever possible for us in acknowledgement of our services to the nation,” as reported by Times of India.  

 

 

Incidentally, this happens to be the first visit to the region after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. Modi’s government had invalided the Articles on August 5, thus integrating the erstwhile state with the entire nation. 

Also Read: Modi appeals for peace in the wake of Ayodhya verdict

Last year, that is in 2018, he spent Diwali with the Army and ITBP personnel in the city terrain near the India China border. 

After becoming the prime minister in 2014, Modi had spent his Diwali at Siachen with jawans.

In 2015, he had visited the Punjab border on Diwali. His visit coincided with 50 years of the 1965 Indo-Pak war.

The next year (2016), Modi was in Himachal Pradesh where he spent time with Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel at an outpost.

Modi had spent his fourth Diwali (2017) as prime minister with soldiers in Gurez in Jammu and Kashmir.

It might be recalled that Modi had had interactions with soldiers when he was an RSS member. 

Such a gesture to spend more time with the armed forces will only give them more enthusiasm and courage.