Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Gujarat from October 30-31 this Diwali. On 30 October, he was in Kevadia on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, where he participated in the National Unity Day celebrations and also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of development projects worth Rs 284 crore.
On the occasion of Diwali on October 31, the Prime Minister paid floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Statue of Unity and participated in the National Unity Day celebrations in the morning. It may be noted that PM Modi visits Kedvia every year on the occasion of Unity Day, and this time as Diwali is also being celebrated on October 31, the PM is going to make this occasion memorable by giving the gift of many development works to Ekta Nagar.
On National Unity Day, the Prime Minister will visit Ekta Nagar in Narmada district and will lay the foundation stone of projects like Bonsai Garden, Sewage Treatment Plant and Sardar Sarovar Dam Experience Center and will inaugurate Sub District Hospital, Traffic Circles and Smart Bus Stop. During this time, PM Modi will also inaugurate a subdistrict hospital, traffic circles and smart bus stops.
This year, while not breaking the tradition, PM Modi celebrated Diwali with jawans in advance in Himachal’s Lepcha as he had to follow another tradition on October 31.
PM Modi’s unique Diwali with the jawans
It may be noted that PM Modi has been celebrating Diwali since 2014 with the security forces of different areas. He has ensured that every time a different and new style of celebration is held in various regions where the PM visits. Keeping in mind that the Diwali of the soldiers should not be lonely while protecting the country on the border, PM Modi has been celebrating Diwali with them every year. He has been visiting different locations every year. After becoming PM for the first time in the year 2014, he celebrated his first Diwali with the army and during this time PM Modi went to Siachen. In 2015, he celebrated Diwali with the soldiers on the border of Pakistan. During this time he went to Punjab and celebrated Diwali on the Punjab border. After this, in 2016, he celebrated Diwali with the soldiers in Himachal Pradesh.
In 2017, he went to Bandipora in Jammu and Kashmir, where he celebrated Diwali with the BSF and Army soldiers deployed on duty. In 2018, PM Modi celebrated Diwali with ITBP in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, while in 2019, he celebrated Diwali in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, and in 2020 in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. PM also celebrated Diwali with the soldiers in the Naushera sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
Keeping alive the tradition, this year Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi reached Tezpur in Assam on Wednesday evening, where they celebrated Diwali with the army soldiers at Meghna Stadium and had dinner.
This traditional gesture of PM Modi, wherein he has been celebrating the festival of lights with the army jawans, who are often far from home, not only boosts their morale but also sends a strong message of solidarity and respect to the armed forces. The tradition which PM Modi has set sends a strong message to the people that their leader believes in going beyond the protocols and wants to bridge the gaps between the government and the common man.
