Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani will be going to Siachen Base camp on Raksha Bandhan while seven other women ministers of the Narendra Modi government will be visiting soldiers elsewhere that day. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said Irani will visit the Siachen Base Camp on August 18. Irani will be the first woman minister to visit there. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, Women and Child Welfare Minister Maneka Gandhi will visit borders areas and interact 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 will be also meeting soldiers on Raksha Bandhan.

An NDTV report says they will travel to the border areas in the North East, Rajasthan and Kashmir to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with the jawans.

The BJP-headed government has already started its fortnight-long celebration to mark 70 years of independence. Senior leaders are visiting different parts of the country for their campaign for unity.