Rajnath performs 'Shastra Puja' in Tawang

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday celebrated Dussehra with Army soldiers at a forward base in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang.

The defence minister also performed ”Shastra Puja” (worship of weapons) on the occasion, officials said.

Singh’s celebration of Dussehra with the soldiers at the strategically important location close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) comes at a time India and China have been engaged in a bitter standoff in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh for over three years.

Singh has been performing ‘Shastra Puja’ during Dussehra for last several years, including during his tenure as the Union Home Minister in the previous NDA government.

Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.

The Army has significantly bolstered deployment of troops and weaponry along the nearly 3,500 km-long LAC, including in the Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh sectors following the eastern Ladakh standoff.