Rajnath Singh landed at Sukna military base in Darjeeling district on Saturday.
New Delhi:
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will perform “Shastra Puja” – the customary weapon worship for the Navratri festival – at Sherathang in Sikkim, less than 2 km from the actual line of control – on Sunday and will pass Dussehra with soldiers a day later, in an extremely symbolic gesture amid the standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
On Saturday, Singh reviewed the combat readiness of the Indian army at the Sukna-based headquarters of its 33 corps, which guards the Actual Line of Control or LAC with China in the Sikkim area, officials said.
On a two-day visit to West Bengal and Sikkim to review the readiness of the forces, the Defense Minister arrived at the key military base, popularly known as the ‘Trishakti’ corps , in the district of Darjeeling at the end of the afternoon with the chief of the army, the general Manoj. Mukund Naravane.
The army has considerably reinforced its troops and armament along the de facto border of nearly 3,500 km, including in the sectors of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, given the tension in Ladakh which did not showed no signs of loosening.
The Minister of Defense and the Chief of the Army were briefed in detail by senior commanders of the 33rd Corps on the situation along the de facto border in the Sikkim sector.
During an interaction with army personnel, the Minister of Defense expressed his wishes to them on the occasion of Vijayadashami and praised their dedication to securing the borders.
“The borders of this country are protected by courageous soldiers like you. The whole country is proud of you,” he said.
Last year, the Minister of Defense carried out the Shastra Puja in the French port city of Bordeaux during a visit to the country to officially receive the Rafale fighter jets.
Mr Singh has performed Shastra Puja during Dussehra in recent years, including during his tenure as Union Home Minister in the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
(With PTI entries)
