Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Dehradun on Wednesday morning to visit Kedarnath temple on the occasion of Diwali festival. Later, in the day, PM Modi will celebrate Diwali with soldiers.
PM Modi will also offer prayers at the Himalayan shrine and review Kedarpuri reconstruction projects. On the occasion, he will be shown a video at the guest house within the temple premises to apprise him about the progress of the projects at the township. It is to be noted that the foundation stone of Kedarpuri reconstruction projects was laid by PM Modi during his visit to the temple last year.
Before reaching to Dehradun, PM Modi tweeted, “Happy Diwali! May this festival bring happiness, good health and prosperity in everyone’s lives. May the power of good and brightness always prevail!”
Responding to Diwali greetings from Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, PM Modi said he would celebrate Diwali Wednesday with Army jawans and share pictures of his experience.
“Every year, I visit our border areas and surprise our troops. This year too, will spend Diwali with our brave troops. Spending time with them is special,” PM Modi said. He said he would share the photos of the same Wednesday evening. Modi also thanked Bibi, as Netanyahu is called, for the Diwali wishes.
“On behalf of the people of Israel, I would like to wish my dear friend @narendramodi and the people of India a joyous Diwali. May this luminous festival of lights bring you happiness and prosperity. Reply to this tweet with the name of the city where you’re celebrating!,” the Israel premier had tweeted.
Importantly, after becoming the prime minister in 2014, Narendra Modi has been celebrating Diwali with Indian soldiers in different parts of the country. In 2014, he had spent Diwali at Siachen with Army jawans. In 2015, he had visited the Punjab border on Diwali. His visit had coincided with 50 years of the 1965 Indo-Pak war.
In 2016, PM Modi was in Himachal Pradesh, where he spent time with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel at a border outpost. He had spent his fourth Diwali as prime minister with soldiers at Gurez in Jammu and Kashmir last year.
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