PM Modi greets nation on Diwali; prays for happiness and prosperity of citizens

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday extended his best wishes and greetings to the people on the occasion of Diwali. Taking to Twitter, he wrote, "Greetings to the countrymen on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. I wish that this festival of lights brings happiness, prosperity and good fortune to your lives."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and other leaders also took to Twitter to greet the country's citizens on the auspicious festival. 

Tweeting in Hindi, Shah wrote, "May this great festival of light and happiness illuminate everyone's life with new energy, light, health and prosperity."

Meanwhile, PM Modi will follow his Diwali tradition by visiting Army jawans in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district and will later celebrate the Diwali festival with the soldiers. Earlier in 2020, he went to the Longewala border in Rajasthan to celebrate Diwali where he lit diyas with the jawans. The Prime Minister has been following this tradition ever since he took over the office in 2014. 

Diwali 2021

Diwali or Deepavali is a five-day festival starting with Dhanteras and finally ending with Bhai Dooj. This year, the festival falls on November 4. The day is celebrated with much enthusiasm and fervour across the country and also marks the victory of good over evil.

Also known as the festival of lights, people celebrate Diwali by lighting diyas in their houses and worshipping Goddess Lakshmi on the day. In some parts of the country, the Goddess Kali is also worshipped. Apart from that, people also burst firecrackers on Diwali. However, under the COVID-19 situation followed by the air quality conditions, firecrackers have been banned in most states in India. 

(Image: PTI)