PM’s Diwali Celebrations: A Look at How Modi Spent Festival of Lights With Jawans Since 2014 – News18

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Himachal Pradesh’s Lepcha on Sunday as a part of his Diwali celebrations with security forces. Since the time he came to power in 2014, Modi has been visiting military facilities to celebrate Diwali.

Taking to X, the prime minister said, “Reached Lepcha in Himachal Pradesh to celebrate Diwali with our brave security forces.”

Earlier, he also greeted people on Diwali and wished them joy, prosperity and health. “Wishing everyone a Happy Diwali! May this special festival bring joy, prosperity and wonderful health to everyone’s lives,” Modi posted on X.

Here’s a look at PM Modi’s Diwali celebrations since coming to power:

In 2014, on getting elected, the Prime Minister started his Diwali day at Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield with soldiers to boost the morale of the troops guarding the icy peaks. During his address that year, the PM praised their valour and courage.

In 2015, PM Modi inaugurated military installations that were associated with the 1965 Indo-Pak war in Punjab. At the event, he praised their “valour and character”.

Again in 2016, Modi visited a remote and strategic area in Himachal Pradesh, adjoining the Chinese border to celebrate Diwali with armed forces.

Similarly in 2017, he visited Gurez sector of north Kashmir along the Line of Control where he spent almost two hours celebrating the festival with troops posted in the forward area.

In 2018, he had halted at the Harsil station to spend time with ITBP jawans and exchanged Diwali wishes while returning from Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand.

After winning the second term as PM in 2019, Modi celebrated the festival with troops deployed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri. He visited just a few hours after Pakistani army had targeted forwarded posts in the district.

Similarly in 2020, he spent the festival of lights with soldiers at Longewala in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer.Talking about his visit, the prime minister said, “Diwali is a festival we celebrate with family, and with those, we call our own… so each year I spend time with you all because you all are my own, my family. I bring sweets for you all today. But these are not just from me. It is from all 130 crore Indians.”

In 2021, Modi celebrated Diwali in Jammu and Kashmir’s Nowshera.

In a post on , formerly known as Twitter he said, “I feel privileged that I got to spend Diwali with our brave soldiers in Nowshera, not as Prime Minister but as a member of their family.” He also shared some photos from the interaction.

Last year, Modi celebrated Diwali with soldiers in Kargil and paid tribute to the Army personnel who lost their lives in the 1999 Kargil war.

While addressing the soldiers, Modi said that India is against war but at the same time focussed ib the need for strength to ensure peace. In his address, the PM further asserted that the country’s growing power boosts the chances of global peace and prosperity.