PM Modi celebrates Diwali with troops in J&K’s Gurez, says ‘you’re my family’

PM Modi had greeted the nation saying, “May this auspicious festival brighten your lives with prosperity and good health and may there be happiness all around.”

In an unannounced visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday celebrated Diwali with troops posted along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Gurez sector. He spent nearly two hours with troops posted in the area which has witnessed many gunfights with infiltrating militants in the past 27 years.

Following his visit, the Prime Minister took to Twitter to share photographs of his visit. “Glad to have celebrated Diwali with our brave Army and BSF Jawans in the Gurez Valley, Jammu and Kashmir. Spending time with our Forces gives me new energy. We exchanged sweets & interacted. Happy to know the Jawans practice Yoga regularly,” he wrote on Twitter. “Jawans who leave Armed Forces after completing their duty tenure, can become excellent yoga trainers subsequently,” he reportedly told the troops in Gurez.

(Source: PTI Photo)

This is the fourth successive Diwali that the Prime Minister has celebrated with jawans on the border. Before this, he spent the occasion amid people of the state in the aftermath of 2014 floods in the Valley. Addressing the army in Gurez, PM Modi acknowledged their sacrifice. “Union Government is committed to welfare and betterment of Armed Forces, in every way possible,” he said. PM Modi also spoke about the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP).

Earlier in the day, marking the festival of Diwali, the BSF also exchanged sweets with Pakistani Rangers at Attari-Wagah border.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)