New Delhi: In a touching gesture, Union Minister Smriti Irani, Thursday, celebrated the festival of Raksha Bandhan with army jawans stationed on the Siachen Glacier in Jammu and Kashmir.
Ms Irani flew on a special Indian Air Force chopper to the icy outpost as part of an initiative taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reach out to the soldiers guarding India's borders.
The union minister personally tied rakhis on wrists of 20 soldiers and wished them and all other soldiers a long and prosperous life.
Making the whole event more memorable for the soldiers, Ms Irani also brought special home-made sweets from Delhi and distributed it among the soldiers.
Addressing the soldiers, Smriti Irani said that the country remains indebted to its soldiers, who man the borders of the nation.
"An honour for me, to celebrate this festival here with my brothers who guard the borders," she added.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, Women and Child Welfare Minister Maneka Gandhi are also visiting borders areas and interacting with the soldiers.
Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce; Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries; and Anupriya Patel, Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare are also taking part in the event on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
