Rajnath Singh to Perform "Shastra Puja", Spend Dussehra Near China Border In Nathula Today

Gangtok: Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will perform the "shastra puja" as per the Hindu tradition in which arms are worshipped annually in Dussehra by warriors at Sikkim's Sherathang which is less than 2 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Singh tweeted "Best wishes to all the countrymen on the Vijayadashami festival. On this auspicious occasion today, I will visit the Nathula area of Sikkim and meet the soldiers of the Indian Army and will also be present in the Shastra Pujan ceremony,"

Last year, Defence Minister had done it in France while receiving India's first Rafale fighter aircraft from there.

The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is on a two-day visit to West Bengal and Sikkim to review the preparedness of the forces amid the standoff with China.

On Saturday, the minister reviewed the combat preparedness of the Indian Army at the Sukna-based headquarters of its 33 Corps which guards the Line of Actual Control or LAC with China in the Sikkim sector, officials said.

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On his visit to West Bengal and Sikkim to review the preparedness of the forces, the defence minister arrived at the key military base, popularly known as ''Trishakti'' Corps, in Darjeeling district in late afternoon along army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane.

The army has significantly strengthened its troops and weaponry along the nearly 3,500 km-long de-facto border including in the Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh sectors given the tension in Ladakh that has shown no sign of easing.

The Defence Minister and the army chief were reportedly briefed in detail by top commanders of the 33 Corps on the situation along the de-facto border in Sikkim sector.

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