Rajnath Singh, defence chiefs to celebrate Diwali with troops in forward areas

The nation's top defence brass, led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will celebrate Diwali with soldiers in different parts of the country on Thursday.

Singh and Union minister Kiren Rijiju, who is from Arunachal Pradesh, arrived in the northeastern state's Tawang on Wednesday, on the eve of the Festival of Lights. There, they will celebrate the festival with troops posted along the Indo-China border.

Also Read: India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC

The ministers are accompanied by Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Upendra Dwivedi.

The tradition was started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been spending his Diwali with troops since 2014, when he came to office.

Meanwhile, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, will be in Andaman and Nicobar to participate in festivities with soldiers deployed there. Navy chief, Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, will celebrate with naval troops in Gujarat's Porbandar, while Air Chief Marshal AP Singh of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will celebrate with soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir.

PM Modi's visits to soldiers on Diwali

In his first Diwali as prime minister, Modi visited Siachen, while the following year, he was in Punjab's Amritsar. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, he went to Hiamchal Pradesh's Kinnaur, Gurez sector (Jammu and Kashmir) and Harsil in Uttarakhand, respectively.

Also Read: How PM Narendra Modi has celebrated Diwali with soldiers since 2014

In 2019, the prime minister was again in Jammu and Kashmir, as he celebrated the festival with jawans in Rajouri. Next year, he was in Rajasthan's Longewala and, in 2021, he was back in Jammu and Kashmir (Nowshera). He spent the next two Diwalis with troops in Ladakh's Kargil and Lepcha in Himachal Pradesh, respectively.

This year, PM Modi is in his home state Gujarat to attend a series of events on Diwali.

(With ANI inputs)