Arriving in Lepcha village in Himachal Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the security forces to celebrate Diwali.
Prime Minister Modi wrote on X that he had “reached Lepcha in Himachal Pradesh to celebrate Diwali with our brave security forces.”
The Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police troops are positioned at Lepcha, close to the Chinese border.
China and Himachal Pradesh are separated by 260 km of border. Of the total length, 80 km of the border lies in the tribal districts of Lahaul and Spiti while 140 km are in the tribal Kinnaur district.
Five ITBP battalions are stationed at twenty posts to guard the China border.
In celebration of the festival of lights with the soldiers in Kargil last year, Prime Minister Modi declared that Diwali is the “festival of end of terror” and that Kargil had made it possible.
For a number of years, the Prime Minister has joined the soldiers in celebrating the festival. 2019 saw the Prime Minister celebrate Diwali with soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, which is located along the Line of Control (LoC).
He had praised soldiers for defending the borders even on holidays, referring to them as his family. At Pathankot Air Force Station, he had exchanged Diwali greetings with Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel.
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