Mongol breed horse 'symbolic gift' to Rajnath Singh, to stay in Mongolia

A young Mongol-breed horse gifted to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh by Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Wednesday will remain in that country as it is a "symbolic gift", official sources said.

The seven-year-old horse has been named 'Tejas' according to norms, they said.

Singh, the first Indian defence minister to visit Mongolia, was gifted the horse by Khurelsukh, seven years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had received a similar gift from the leadership of that country.

The defence minister took to Twitter to share images of the gifted horse. In one of the pictures, Singh is seen admiring the horse while in another he is holding a framed picture of the equine gift.

"The horse is seven years old and of Mongol breed," an official source told PTI.

Asked if the horse will be brought to India, the source said, "No, the horse will not be brought to India. It's a symbolic gift. The horse will remain in Mongolia."

Earlier in the day, Singh had tweeted: "A special gift from our special friends in Mongolia. I have named this magnificent beauty, 'Tejas'. Thank you, President Khurelsukh. Thank you Mongolia."

On Tuesday, Singh had called on Khurelsukh and reviewed strategic bilateral ties.

"Excellent meeting with the President of Mongolia, H.E. U. Khurelsukh in Ulaanbaatar. Recalled my last meeting with him in 2018, when he was the Prime Minister of the country. We are fully committed to further deepening our multifaceted Strategic Partnership with Mongolia," Singh had said in a tweet.