Srinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked Diwali 2017 by visiting the Gurez sector near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, said media reports. Clad in an Army jacket and sporting sunglasses, PM Modi addressed the troops in Gurez, saying, “When I greet you and shake hands with you, you may think it is just a formality. But for me, it isn’t just a formality. I get energised when I meet you and see the penance and sacrifice you make amid harsh conditions.”
Speaking about Diwali, PM Modi said that, like everybody else, he too wishes to spend the festival with his family. And so, the prime minster said, he had come to meet the jawans of the armed forces in order to spend Diwali with “his family.”
PM Modi, whose comments were put up on his blog on NarendraModi.in, brought up yoga during his trip to Gurez, saying he had been told how the soldiers posted there regularly practised yoga.
Practising yoga will enhance your abilities, and give you a sense of calm, PM Modi told the gathered soldiers. PM Modi went on to say that the jawans, after leaving the armed forces, could become excellent yoga trainers.
On his Diwali day address to the jawans, PM Modi also brought up his pet theme of ‘New India by 2022.’ PM Modi spoke of the personal resolve that all Indians must make for 2022, the 75th anniversary of the country’s independence.
This was the third time Prime Minister Modi has spent Diwali with the armed forces. He spent the last two Diwali days with troops in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.
On his visit to Gurez, the prime minister was accompanied by the Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat, and other senior Army officers.
