Harsimrat: V-P Naidu to lead first jatha to Kartarpur
Week-long functions comprising religious events, seminars, literature festival, kavi darbars to be organised besides displaying Sikh heritage and culture
CHANDIGARH: Union food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday said Vice-president Venkaiah Naidu will lead the first jatha (delegation) of pilgrims to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan through the Kartarpur corridor on November 9 to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Harsimrat said former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal will also be part of the delegation that will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Harsimrat’s statement is contrary to Punjab government’s stance that the inaugural jatha will be led by Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh.
The Centre on Monday had shared with Pakistan a list of 575 pilgrims that includes the names of Amarinder, former PM Dr Manmohan Singh, Union minister Hardeep Puri, MPS and MLAS from Punjab besides Harsimrat.
“I don’t know about him (Punjab CM) leading the jatha because the matter is still to be considered in the high-powered committee of the Centre of
The Punjab CM can’t claim that he’s leading the jatha. It’s such an auspicious occasion that everyone should be part of it as a humble devotee and not as a leader. HARSIMRAT KAUR BADAL, Union minister
which I am a part too. There will be clarity on the matter by Friday. But one thing I can say is that there will be only one jatha crossing over to Pakistan on November 9,” Harsimrat said.
CM’S media adviser Raveen Thukral had on Tuesday said that Amarinder will lead the delegation and the state government has sent the names of MPS, MLAS, ministers, leaders of political parties and prominent members of Sant Samaj.
DERA BABA NANAK: The historic town of Dera Baba Nanak will be the second hub of the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak after Sultanpur Lodhi as the state government has planned week-long religious and other functions in the tent city set up over 150 acres of land here.
Sultanpur Lodhi, where the founder of Sikh faith spent 14 years of his life, will be the main centre of celebrations with the arrangements made by the state government, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and other Sikh organisations. But devotees in large numbers will also be part of the celebrations at Dera Baba Nanak, where the guru came to meet his family in 1515 after the completion of his first ‘udasi’ (journey), being the last point on the Indian side to the upcoming corridor leading to Kartarpur in Pakistan.
The corridor will be thrown open on November 9, with the festivities at the town starting a day before. The celebrations, named as ‘Dera Baba Nanak Utsav’, will be held between November 8 and November 12. Religious functions, seminars, discussions, literary activities such as literature festival and kavi darbars will be held besides displaying Sikh traditional music, arts, heritage and culture on the life and philosophy of Guru Nanak, said Punjab jails and cooperation minister and local MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
On the pattern of Sultanpur Lodhi, a large pandal has been set up over 40 acres in the tent city here along the national highway leading to the corridor. The area surrounding the town has been
divided into eight sectors, where staff of departments of health, water supply, sanitation, local government, police, and fire control will be deployed, said SDM Gursimran Singh Dhillon.
“No private vehicles, except that of locals, will be allowed to enter the town for the convenience of devotees. Parking arrangements have been made on all the routes from where government buses will ferry them to different places, including the passenger terminal built for the corridor and historic gurdwaras,” the SDM said.
WORK ON CORRIDOR STILL PENDING
Even as the departments concerned had set October as the deadline to finish work on the first phase of the Kartarpur corridor on the Indian side, much of the project is still pending.