President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s personal invitation to attend the 550th prakash purb celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, including the historic opening of the Kartarpur Corridor.
Capt Amarinder met the two in separate meetings and urged them to join the mega events to mark the auspicious occasion.
Later, Capt Amarinder said that both the President and the Prime Minister had accepted the State Government’s invitation to be a part of the historic celebrations and modalities for their visit would be finalized after the Kartarpur Corridor opening programme is frozen with Pakistan.
“The detailed official programme of events has been shared with both, the President and the Prime Minister, and they had been requested by the Chief Minister to attend as per their convenience,” said an official spokesperson.
However, the Chief Minister had urged them, in particular, to participate in the Kartarpur Corridor opening at Dera Baba Nanak and the November 12 main programme at Sultanpur Lodhi.
At his meeting with the Prime Minister, Capt Amarinder also urged his personal intervention to facilitate political clearance for allowing a special all party jatha (batch) to visit Sri Nankana Sahib — the birth place of the first Guru, now in Pakistan — on the historic occasion.
Capt Amarinder requested that a group of 21 persons may be allowed to visit Sri Nankana Sahib to organise a path on the occasion of the 550th prakash purb from October 30 to November 3, and bring a Nagar Kirtan to Sultanpur Lodhi via Amritsar (Wagah) later in the day. The Nagar Kirtan will arrive in Sultanpur Lodhi (Kapurthala district) on November 4.
The Chief Minister has also written a DO letter to Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar seeking formal clearance for the Nankana Sahib delegation visit and the Nagar Kirtan to be brought from Pakistan to Punjab, according to an official spokesperson.
In line with past practice, the Punjab Government has proposed to organize an All Party Meeting from 11 am to 2 pm on November 1, 2019, at Sultanpur Lodhi.
The complete logistic and security arrangements for this meeting of pilgrims or sangat were being made by the State Government, the Chief Minister told the Prime Minister and the President, extending a warm invitation, on behalf of his government, to them to make this a memorable experience for one and all by joining the auspicious event.
Approximately six kilometre fenced corridor – originally proposed in 1999 by the then heads of the two countries, Atal Bihari Vajapayee and Nawaz Sharif – from the Indian border city Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib on the Pakistani side is an emotive issue for Sikhs.
Kartarpur is the final resting place of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, but has been inaccessible for Indian Sikhs since partition. Since then, pilgrims visit Dera Baba Nanak, from where Karatpur Sahib Gurudwara is faintly visible, to catch a glimpse of the holy shrine.
The corridor, which aims to facilitate a visa-free movement of pilgrims, is expected to be completed before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak on November 12, 2019.
MANMOHAN SINGH TO JOIN FIRST JATHA TO KARTARPUR GURUDWARA
Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh join the first all party jatha (batch) of pilgrims to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan after the opening of diplomatically-crucial corridor.
Dr Manmohan Singh on Thursday accepted Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s invitation to join the first all party jatha to Kartarpur Sahib and participate in the main event.
“Dr Singh has accepted his invite,” said the Chief Minister, who will lead the jatha.
Giving details of the first ‘jatha’, Capt Amarinder’s media adviser Raveen Thukral tweeted to inform that Dr Manmohan Singh has accepted the Chief Minister’s invitation to visit Kartarpur Sahib on November 9, soon after the inauguration of the corridor. Thukral added that the former Prime Minister will also attend Sultanpur Lodhi main event.
NOT GOING TO PAK: CAPT
Capt Amarinder has clarified that he would not be visiting Pakistan, but would only pay obeisance at Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara by leading an all party jatha.
“The jatha, that I would lead, would use the corridor to reach Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara, and that I am not visiting Pakistan,” he said.
Notably, Pak’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had, last week, said that his Government would invite Dr Manmohan Singh to the Kartarpur corridor’s inauguration ceremony in Pakistan. However, the former Prime Minister’s office had said that he would reject any such invite from Pakistan.
Capt Amarinder, while talking to the mediapersons after his meeting with the former Prime Minister, said that there was no question of him going to Pakistan for the Kartarpur corridor opening ceremony being conducted by the Pakistan Government.
“I feel Dr Manmohan Singh will not go as well,” said Capt Amarinder.