``Hame apne haal pe rehne dein,'' (Let the army be), said General Malik and soon after the Army issued a notice saying it was not logistically possible for the rakhis to be sent to soldiers and therefore only a symbolic rakhi be given for the soldiers.

The VHP representatives armed with photographers came to the Ministry of Defence around the time when General Malik was making a statement urging political parties to leave the Army alone. He said this in reply to a question after meeting a group of 20 children from Baramulla in South Block.

Sources said that this is not the first instance of rakhis being sent to the Army, though today was the ``largest and the most blatant effort.'' The Army has received both`lotus' and `hand' shaped rakhis. ``But the majority is of the lotus in the background of the rakhi. It could be taken as a harmless gesture but these people came armed with half-a-dozen photographers. They wanted to meet the Chief (General Malik) but with him being busy they walked into the Military Intelligence (MI) office and gave the rakhis with flashes popping. This is not done,'' complained an officer.

The armed forces are anyway trying to keep political parties at bay who are ``blatantly cashing in on the Kargil victory.'' Recently members of the same political outfit reached army's base hospital in Delhi and presented air conditioners and religious books to soldiers recovering from injuries suffered in the Kargil war.

Another outfit presented crutches and some medical instruments to the base hospital while the portraits of the three service chiefs General Malik, Air Chief Marshal Anil Yashwant Tipnis and Chief of Naval Staff Sushil Kumar were a part of the mural at a political rally addressed byPrime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Army officers said they were touched by the emotional bonding with the nation during the war when they received millions of letters from all over the country. `We have even been receiving rakhis from children all over the country but suddenly with elections drawing close, bulks of rakhis are coming from political parties and this is not done,'' he added.

Late in the evening the spokesman said that the Army is overwhelmed with thousands of rakhis being sent by various organisations for the soldiers upfront. ``The emotions attached to such a gesture are being conveyed to all ranks,'' he said requesting that a ``symbolic rakhi' could be sent to the Army Headquarters.