Prime Minister Narendra Modi will celebrate the festival of Diwali in his home state where he is on a two-day visit. On Thursday morning, Modi will offer floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Statue of Unity at 7:15 am.
He will then participate in the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas celebrations where he will administer the Ekta Diwas pledge and observe the Ekta Diwas Parade.
16 marching contingents will participate in the parade, including those from the police forces of nine states and one Union Territory, four Central Armed Police Forces, the NCC, and a marching band.
A "hell march" contingent by the National Security Guard will be the event's highlight besides a daredevil show by Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force men and women bikers, a demonstration of Indian martial arts by the BSF, a piped band performance by schoolchildren, and a 'Surya Kiran' flypast by the Indian Air Force, among other attractions.
Since coming to power in 2014, Prime Minister Modi has been celebrating the festival of lights with the armed forces at various locations. Every year, he visits a military facility and interacts with the troops.
In 2014, he visited Siachen to celebrate Diwali with the security forces and the following year, he visited three memorials in Punjab to honour the achievements of the Indian Army in the 1965 war.
He was in Himachal Pradesh in 2016 where he met soldiers near the China border and engaged with personnel from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Dogra Scouts, and the Army at Sumdoh.
In 2017, PM Modi was in the Gurez sector in North Kashmir and made a surprise visit to Harsil, Uttarakhand the next year. In 2019, Modi celebrated Diwali with security forces in Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir and visited the Longewala border post in 2020.
In 2021, Modi visited Nowshera in Jammu and Kashmir while last year he celebrated the festival with soldiers in Kargil.