Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman touches martyr's mother's feet at Dehradun event

Dehradun: In a moving gesture, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday touched the feet of mothers of martyrs as a mark of respect at an event in Dehradun in Uttarakhand. The moment was captured on a video, which quickly went viral on social media.

The incident reportedly took place at an event which was organised to honour the widows and parents of martyrs. The function was being held in Dehradun’s Hathibarkala area, local media reported.

At the event, the Defence Minister honoured the wives and parents of the country’s bravehearts who made the ultimate sacrifice, by presenting them with a bouquet of flowers and a shawl. When mothers of the martyrs were called up on stage to be facilitated, the Raksha Mantri greeted them by touching their feet, as per the viral video.

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#WATCH Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman felicitates and touches feet of mothers of martyrs during Shaurya Samman Samaroh in Dehradun earlier today. #Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/JbT98o9NDC — ANI (@ANI) March 4, 2019

Meanwhile, speaking at the event, the Defence Minister attacked the Opposition over the One Rank One Pension (OROP) issue, stating that the previous government had approved a proposal of mere Rs 500 crores for it while the Narendra Modi government had transferred Rs 35,000 crores in three years to the accounts of former armed forces personnel.

Sitharaman also slammed the Opposition over the issue of the National War Memorial. She said, "For the last 60 years a National War Memorial was pending, we have had four major wars so far, there was not a single war memorial at the national level dedicated to the martyrs of all those wars. A war memorial was dedicated to the forces this February."

While addressing the ex-servicemen in Dehradun, the Defence Minister also said, “I request you to please don't believe in people who spread rumours, please be aware. We need to reject those who use simplicity and sincerity of soldiers to mislead.”

