Prime Minister Narendra Modi has celebrated this years Diwali with the soldiers of ITBP in the Indo-China border. He was received admist the chanting of ‘Bharath Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’. While talking to the soldiers, PM Modi said: “Because you guard our borders, people sleep at night. If you were not on the borders, people couldn’t have slept.”

This year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spent Diwali with the jawans of the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Dogra Scouts at the forward posts along the Sino-Indian border in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti in Himachal Pradesh.

“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,” Modi said.

“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 said.

Ramlal Markande, a former BJP minister and Lahaul-Spiti MLA, said that the Army had invited local villagers after the Prime Minister has expressed a desire to meet them. “Around 25 people including several women met him by roadside, and offered him Himachali cap, which the Prime Minister happily accepted,” Markande said.

By Premji