Prime Minister Narendra Modi today unfurled the national flag at the historic Red Fort on the occasion of 69th Independence Day amid loud cheers from the public. <br/><br/>As soon as the Prime Minister's cavalcade arrived at the venue at 7:23 AM, thousands of people from the general public and school children greeted him with a thunderous applause.<br/><br/>He then inspected the guard of honour and walked to the ramparts of the Red Fort and unfurled the tricolour at 7:30 AM. <br/><br/>Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh along with the Defence Secretary received Modi as he arrived at the Lahore Gate.<br/><br/>Before coming to Red Fort, Modi went to Rajghat and paid homage to father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi. <br/><br/>At Red Fort, people from all walks of life had queued up to participate in the event. According to the police, about 40,000 people attended the function.<br/><br/>There were seating arrangements for 22,000 people, including 8000 VVIPs and VIPs, 4,000 for school children and 10,000 for the general public. <br/><br/>Tricoloured balloons were released after the Prime Minister concluded his speech. When Modi's cavalcade was leaving the venue, children waved their caps and scarves and greeted him.<br/><br/>As last year, the Prime Minister stopped his car and went to meet the children. He shook hands with some children and greeted them on the occasion. <br/><br/>Demonstrating their excitement and patriotic zeal, children sang the national anthem with festive fervour both at the beginning and end of the event. <br/><br/>A 21-gun salute was also accorded when the Prime Minister unfurled the national flag. <br/><br/>Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with wife Gursharan Kaur, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, BJP President Amit Shah, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar were some of the VVIPs present for the event.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today unfurled the national flag at the historic Red Fort on the occasion of 69th Independence Day amid loud cheers from the public. <br/><br/>As soon as the Prime Minister's cavalcade arrived at the venue at 7:23 AM, thousands of people from the general public and school children greeted him with a thunderous applause.<br/><br/>He then inspected the guard of honour and walked to the ramparts of the Red Fort and unfurled the tricolour at 7:30 AM. <br/><br/>Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh along with the Defence Secretary received Modi as he arrived at the Lahore Gate.<br/><br/>Before coming to Red Fort, Modi went to Rajghat and paid homage to father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi. <br/><br/>At Red Fort, people from all walks of life had queued up to participate in the event. According to the police, about 40,000 people attended the function.<br/><br/>There were seating arrangements for 22,000 people, including 8000 VVIPs and VIPs, 4,000 for school children and 10,000 for the general public. <br/><br/>Tricoloured balloons were released after the Prime Minister concluded his speech. When Modi's cavalcade was leaving the venue, children waved their caps and scarves and greeted him.<br/><br/>As last year, the Prime Minister stopped his car and went to meet the children. He shook hands with some children and greeted them on the occasion. <br/><br/>Demonstrating their excitement and patriotic zeal, children sang the national anthem with festive fervour both at the beginning and end of the event. <br/><br/>A 21-gun salute was also accorded when the Prime Minister unfurled the national flag. <br/> <br/>Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with wife Gursharan Kaur, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, BJP President Amit Shah, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar were some of the VVIPs present for the event.