Five girls tie rakhis to Punjab CM Amarinder Singh on Raksha Bandhan

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in a screengrab of a video tweeted by him

Jalandhar: On Raksha Bandhan, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh was tied rakhis by five girls which included two daughters of soldiers killed in Jammu and Kashmir. Singh offered them sweets, gifts and wished them a bright, happy and prosperous future. According to an official statement, the girls also gave sweets to the chief minister and put a 'tilak' on his forehead.

The daughters of soldiers were identified as Sonia, daughter of martyr Constable Raj Kumar of Rakshak Operation in Jammu and Kashmir, and Bhawna, daughter of martyr Lance Naik Kulwinder Singh of Rakshak Operation. Other girls in the group were Sulekha, a Class 3 student of the Red Cross School for Deaf and Dumb in Gurdaspur; Muskan, a student of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Nehru Garden; and Komalpreet Kaur, also from a farming family from Salempur.

People in Punjab, Haryana and their joint capital Chandigarh on Thursday celebrated the 73rd Independence Day, amid tight security arrangements. Patriotic fervour swept across Punjab as flag hoisting ceremonies were held at district headquarters, educational institutes and other places.

Captain Amarinder Singh tweeted, "Proud to unfurl the national flag & inspect the parade on occasion of the 73rd #IndependenceDay. Always a matter of pride & happiness to see everyone coming together to celebrate the spirit of independence!" [sic]

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh unfurled the tricolour in Jalandhar. Singh greeted people on Twitter, "Today we remember the heroes of our freedom struggle who laid down their lives for our independence. This Independence Day let us rededicate ourselves to building India of their dreams."

Amarinder Singh extends his greetings on 73rd Independence Day. Watch video here...

Heroes of the Indian freedom struggle were remembered on the occasion. Punjab Governor and UT Chandigarh Administrator V P Singh Badnore unfurled the tricolour in Chandigarh and Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya in Faridabad.

Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from PTI

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