Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Sikkim was cancelled on Sunday due to inclement weather, said sources in the Ministry of Defence.
Singh was to visit forward areas in Sikkim and interact with troops at border posts along the Line of Actual (LAC) with China in the Sikkim sector. He was to visit Sherathang and Nathu La today, however it was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Earlier today, Singh performed the Shastra Puja along with Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Narvane and GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, Lt. Gen Anil Chauhan at the headquarters of 33 Corps also popularly known as the Trishakti Corps in Sukna Military Camp, West Bengal.
He also inaugurated the axle road or the alternate alignment Gangtok - Nathula Road via video conferencing from the Headquarters of 33 Corps in Sukna. Thereafter, he participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Sukna War Memorial.
Significantly, this visit to Darjeeling and Sikkim came in the backdrop of India and China being locked in a five-month long bitter border stand off in eastern Ladakh which has significantly strained ties between the two nations.
“India wants the tension to end and peace be established. I am confident that my jawans and the Indian Army will not allow even an inch of our land to be handed over to anyone else. As far as what happened in the Ladakh border, the role of our jawans played in that tension will be written in history,” said Singh after performing the Shastra Puja at Sukna.
