Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani celebrated Raksha Bandhan by spending the day with Army personnel stationed at the Siachen glacier and tied rakhis for many of them.
Irani is reportedly the first woman minister from India to visit Siachen Base Camp which lies on the Indo-Pak border between the line of control. It is said to be the highest battlefield and is considered one of the toughest places for human survival as the temperature drops to -50 degree C in winters.
“It’s an honour for me, to celebrate this festival here with my brothers who guard the borders,” Irani said after tying rakhis to the jawans.
Here is the video:
The warm gesture was welcomed by many and people praise the textiles minister for it.
Here are some who lauded it:
Proud of @smritiirani ji for traveling to the Siachen base & boosting morale of our jawans. They must be feeling really happy today!
— Rahul Kaushik (@kaushkrahul) August 18, 2016
@smritiirani Thank you all for your wonderful gesture to reach out to our brave soldiers with Rakhis. #HappyRakshaBandhan
— Sakshi A Mattoo (@isakshiamattoo) August 18, 2016
Good move by Govt. Cabinet Minister @smritiirani celebrates #rakshabandhan with Army Jawans at Siachen base camp. pic.twitter.com/1Git6yJPDy
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 18, 2016
Respects to @smritiirani for celebrating #rakshabandhan with #Soldiers at the borders.
— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) August 18, 2016
It takes sangh sanskar to show this courtesy towards army jawans @smritiirani @nsitharaman well done #rakshabandhan pic.twitter.com/WTGoqmX6Tk
— डॉ श्रद्धा (@drshraddha16) August 18, 2016
Minister @smritiirani ‘s message for troops during her Siachen visit. pic.twitter.com/MG5SF9Qy7N
— Manu Pubby (@manupubby_ET) August 18, 2016
But then, there were some who took the opportunity to take potshots at her:
@ndtv @smritiirani Nautanki
— pravinbisure deshmuk (@pravinbisure) August 18, 2016
@ndtv @smritiirani BJP,s drama queen, she learnt a lot from TV serials
— OMESH PAL RAMPAL (@51c54256270e41d) August 18, 2016
Siachen is Toughest duty for our Soldiers. As if Hostile Enemy, deadly weather was not enough, now they have to face antics of Smriti Irani
— Joy (@Joydas) August 18, 2016
(Feature image source: Twitter| Smriti Z Irani)