Longowal denies boycotting CM meeting

AMRITSAR : A day after Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh presided over a meeting to make arrangements for celebrations of 550th parkash utsav (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev, SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal refuted the charge that he had boycotted the meeting.

Reacting to media reports and the official press release issued by the government, stating that the SGPC president boycotted the meeting by declining the invitation of the government, Longowal said, “I got no such invitation. So, there is no question of boycotting the meeting.”

The 550th parkash gurpurab, which falls in 2019 will be celebrated on a large scale by the SGPC.

The state government is also making arrangements on its part. While chairing a state-level meeting held at Chandigarh, the chief minister directed the tourism and culture department to take on the arrangements.

The officials claimed that they had sent a special invite to SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, member of Rajya Sabha Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Naresh Gujral, Longowal, state BJP president Vijay Sampla and AAP MP Bhagwant Mann.

However, the SGPC chief as well as leaders from opposition did not turn up there.

Tourism and culture minister Navjot Singh Sidhu termed the “boycott” as unfortunate. “We had no intimation regarding the meeting,” said Longowal while speaking to HT.

“If the government is willing to contribute to the celebrations, the SGPC will welcome and is ready to collaborate,” added the SGPC chief.

It is worth mentioning here that some Congress MLAS on Tuesday criticised the SAD for skipping the meeting.