With Lemons & Coconuts, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Performs 'Shashtra' Puja On Rafale Combat Jets

If you ever see a car with vermillion smeared on it or a lemon hanging by the bumper, we all know that it's been given a grand religious welcome. If you think people do this only for cars, two-wheelers, or bicycles, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is here to prove you wrong.

ANI

Well, it did happen, and the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was hell-bent on performing 'Shastra Puja' on the newly received combat jet in France.

Rajnath Singh ji does Shastra Pooja of Rafale fighter plane on Vijayadashami in France India¡¯s first Rafale ready ...we update with technology along with our tradition ????? ???? ????? .... pic.twitter.com/dDwcPehSqP

¡ª Suresh Anekal 2019 (@babu_2019) October 9, 2019

For those unaware, Shastra Puja or Ayudha Puja is performed to worship weapons and it has been part of Dussehra celebrations in several parts of the country.

Singh has been performing ¡®Shastra Puja¡¯ for last several years including during his tenure as Union Home Minister in the previous NDA government. The Rafale jet was formally handed over to the IAF at Merignac in Bordeaux region of France, in the presence of his French counterpart Florence Parly on Tuesday.

The Defence Minister took a sortie in the aircraft from a French airbase to gain first-hand experience of the fighter jet.

Rafale is an awesome plane, a beauty... sanctified on an auspicious day by RM by performing Sashtra Pooja. https://t.co/qMZBPzeHyH

¡ª Shrinivasan?? (@shrinim) October 8, 2019

According to TOI, the first four of the 36 Rafale fighters - under the Rs 59,000 crore deal inked in September 2016 - will touch down in India only in May next year.

The first Rafale bears a tail number ¡®RB 01', where 'RB' stands for Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria, who played an important role in negotiations for procuring 36 Rafale jets in flyaway condition.