Rajnath to visit China border in Sikkim today

 The defence minister will interact with senior army officials and inaugurate a road near the frontier

TT  |   Siliguri   |   25.10.20  :  Defence minister Rajnath Singh arrived at the Bagdogra airport here on Saturday and will fly to Sikkim on Sunday for an interaction with senior army officials along the China border and inauguration of a road near the frontier.

“Heading to Darjeeling on a two day visit to West Bengal and Sikkim. I shall visit the forward areas and also interact with the troops. A road constructed by the Border Roads Organisation in Sikkim will also be inaugurated during the visit,” Singh tweeted on Saturday, before leaving for Bagdogra.

The defence minister is being accompanied by senior officials of the army. From Bagdogra, he has reached the headquarters of the 33 Corps of the Indian Army at Sukna, around 10km from here.

Army officials will brief the minister on deployment of troops and other details during the visit which comes amid the stand-off between India and China in eastern Ladakh.

Singh will fly to Sikkim on Sunday and attend a “Shastra Puja” — the traditional worship of weapons by the defence personnel on the occasion of Dusshera — and interact with the troops.

Later in the day, he is scheduled to inaugurate a road near the China border and later the Thakurbari temple in Gangtok.

There was a stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops at Dokalam, a tri-junction of Sikkim, Bhutan and China, three years ago.

This is the first time that the defence minister is on a visit to the India-China border in Sikkim after the clash between the armies of both the countries in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

“The minister’s visit seeks to boost the morale of soldiers in forward areas,” said a defence ministry official.