PM Modi celebrates Diwali with jawans in J&K's Rajouri

Srinagar, Oct 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Diwali with the Army on Saturday in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri. The is the third time since 2014, that the prime minister visited J&K to celebrate the auspicious day with troops stationed at the border.

This is also the first after the state's special status was scrapped under Article 370.

Jawans happy and proud

The troops said they were "happy and proud" on meeting PM Modi and one soldier told news agency PTI that his "gesture came as a morale booster for the soldiers working round the clock to secure the country's borders."

PM Modi's praise for jawans

The soldiers said the prime minister asked them to continue their vigil along the border for peace in the region.

PM Modi's third Diwali since 2014

PM Modi's Diwali visits to troops started in 2014 after he spent the festival at Siachen in Ladakh with soldiers, besides visiting the flood victims in Srinagar.

Last year too, he celebrated Diwali with the Army and the ITBP personnel in the icy terrain near the India-China border in Uttarakhand.

with PTI inputs