U'khand: After offering prayers at Kedarnath Temple, PM celebrates Diwali with jawans at Harsil

Dehradun, Nov 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Diwali 2018 with Army jawans and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel at Harsil near the India-China border in Uttarakhand on Wednesday morning. He later visited the Lord Shiva's Kedarnath Temple to offer prayers.

The prime minister visited Kedarnath and offered prayers at the Himalayan shrine and review Kedarpur. He is expected to inspect the reconstruction projects underway at Kedarpuri, news agency PTI reported.

Modi also thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his Diwali greetings. Netanyahu greeted Mr Modi and the people of India on the joyous occasion.

President Ramnath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu have also greeted the people on the occasion. In his message, Kovind said, Deepawali is an opportunity to foster fraternity and unity among all citizens. He said, Deepawali guides people from darkness towards light. Kovind also urged all citizens to commit themselves to celebrating a pollution-free and safe Deepawali.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will celebrate Diwali at Andra La-Omkar and Anini in Arunachal Pradesh with Indian troops deployed in forward areas. Mrs Sitharaman will also handover paintings of school children to soldiers as Diwali gifts and meet the families of martyrs.

After becoming the prime minister in 2014, Modi 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, Modi was in Himachal Pradesh, where he spent time with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel at a border outpost.