Women Union Ministers on Thursday visited the border areas of the country, including Siachen and Tawang, and celebrated the festival of Raksha Bandhan by tying rakhis on soldiers guarding the frontiers.
Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani tied rakhis on several Indian Army soldiers in Siachen while Union Food and Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal visited Wagah border on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
Irani visited the army base camp in Siachen, the highest battle ground on earth, becoming the first woman minister in India to do so.
Irani distributed sweets among the soldiers and said: "The country needs to thank these brave men who are serving the country at such a place away from their family. The country is extremely proud of their supreme sacrifices."
"I feel honoured to have got this chance to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with our soldiers. I am proud to tie rakhi on their wrists and pray for their well being," she added.
Irani presented a canvas to the soldiers carrying messages from people all over the country. Earlier, she laid a wreath at the war memorial in Siachen.
The minimum temperature there dips below -50 degree Celsius.
Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal tied rakhi on soldiers at the Wagah border.
"Feeling blessed to tie rakhis on the wrists of my braveheart brothers at Wagah border. May Almighty bless them," Badal said in a tweet.
Later she attended a function on the 70th year of Independence at Khatkarkalan, the birth place of Shaheed Bhagat Singh.
Union Minister for Commerce and Industries Nirmala Sitharaman visited Tawang, India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh and tied rakhi on soldiers.
"HappyRakshaBandhan The most special one- @nsitharaman with our heroes at Indo-China border,Arunachal #Azaadi70Saal," she said in a tweet.
Union Minister of State for Food Processing and Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti visited Chirang, on the Indo-Bhutan border in Assam and attended a Raksha Bandhan programme.
The programme was organised by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
"The festival of Raksha Bandhan is a symbol of unity," she said.
Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti celebrated the festival at Nagpur with CRPF personnel and their families.
--IANS
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