This is his first visit to the valley after the Centre abrogated Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, on August 5.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday arrived in Rajouri district to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Diwali with the army troops guarding the Line of Control. Modi distributed sweets to the soldiers to mark the festive celebrations.
The PM arrived in Rajouri in the afternoon on Sunday after directly flying to the Army Brigade Headquarters in the border district to interact with the troops deployed along the LoC, the officials said.
This is his first visit to the valley after the Centre abrogated Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, on August 5.
The visit coincided with Infantry Day celebrations, which is observed to mark the landing of first Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 to push back Pakistan supported intruders.
This is the third time that PM Modi has visited Jammu and Kashmir to celebrate Diwali with the soldiers. Over the past few years, Modi has celebrated the festival with soldiers in places such as Siachen, the Indo-Pak border in Punjab, Gurez in Kashmir and the Indo-China borders in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
In 2014, after he became the Prime Minister of India, Modi went to Siachen, the world's highest battleground, to celebrate Diwali with the Jawans.
Before flying to Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir to celebrate the festival of lights, Modi tweeted his Diwali greetings in the morning.
“May this auspicious festival brighten your lives with prosperity and good health and may there be happiness all around,” Modi said in a tweet.
In the morning, Modi also addressed the 58th episode of 'Mann ki Baat' which is broadcasted on the last Sunday of every month. Remembering Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel ahead of his birth anniversary, he said that the country will always be grateful for his contributions.
Reminding the nation of the significance of the October 31, birth anniversary of Iron Man of India, Modi said, "Sardar Patel possessed the rare quality of uniting people and was able to strike a balance with people who were not in ideological agreement with him."
"We all know about Sardar Patel’s efforts towards unifying some of the bigger places such as Hyderabad and Junagadh. But, do you know such was the man that he also focused on smaller places like Lakshadweep," he added.
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 "PM Modi celebrates Diwali with soldiers near LoC in Rajouri")
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