The image of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh performing the puja of a Rafale fighter jet, the first if the 36 jets purchased by India handed over by France’s Dassault Aviation in Merignac, France, on Tuesday stood out among a plethora of pictures of the event.

Two big lemons were placed under the wheels of the plane while a coconut was placed atop the jet’s infrared search and track system.

The irony and the paradox of the situation was not lost on the Indians who took to social media to poke some fun in the moment of “great pride” for the country.

Well-known defence journalist Shiv Aroor tweeted a picture of the coconut placed along with garlands atop the plane with the comment: “Coconut and flowers on the Rafale’s Safran Front Sector Optronics (FSO), an infrared search & track system.”