Decrying attempts made by “certain elements” to mar the sanctity of the sacred occasion of foundation stone laying ceremony of Kartarpur corridor in India and Pakistan, Punjab’s former Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday asked the Pak Prime Minister Imran Khan to check the same.
“People inimical to peace and stability in Punjab had been given importance at the foundation stone laying ceremony and were even seen rubbing shoulders with the Pakistan Army Chief and the Pakistan Prime Minister. This has sent out contradictory signals to the Sikh ‘jagat’ which did not want peace to be destroyed in Punjab at any cost. I feel PM Imran Khan should take necessary steps to ensure such elements are not encouraged in any manner. This is also not in consonance with the Guru Nanak Dev ji’s message of sarbat da bhala,” said Badal.
Also congratulating the Sikh sangat at the culmination of twin foundation stone laying ceremonies for construction of the Kartarpur Corridor in India and Pakistan respectively, Badal said that it was a moment of pride and satisfaction for him that this epoch making event had occurred during NDA tenure.
He said that the prayers of crores of “nanak naam leva” sangat had been answered after 71 years since the last resting abode of Guru Nanak Dev had been lost to the Sikh community.
Emphasizing that a good beginning had been made by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Badal said that this initiative should be implemented in the right spirit as it concerned the religious sentiments of the entire Sikh world. “I have no words to express gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has virtually set the tone for peace in the sub-continent by this move,” he said.
The former chief minister said that the SAD had continuously raised the issue of opening of the Kartarpur corridor starting from 1948 when it passed a resolution in this regard in Patiala.
Badal said that he had also taken up the issue with former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee when the latter visited Pakistan. “I also led the Punjab assembly in moving a resolution demanding establishment of the corridor in 2010. I am grateful that these efforts have finally borne fruit,” he added.