Panel for Parkash Utsav set up

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has constituted a state-level committee to prepare for the 550th anniversary celebration of the Parkash Utsav of Guru Nanak in 2019.

Former PM Manmohan Singh has been requested to be the patron-in-chief of the 36-member committee, chaired by the CM and entrusted with the task of planning and making arrangements to celebrate the occasion.

All ministers of the state government, presidents of the state units of all major political parties, including the Congress, SAD, BJP and the AAP, some MPs and MLAs, besides the president of SGPC are members of the committee.

The spokesman said the CM has also decided to request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute and chair a national-level organising committee under the aegis of the Union ministry of culture to coordinate and work in collaboration with the state government to make the event a success. Besides the MPs from Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Jalandhar, the committee would have, as its members, MPs Ambika Soni, Mohinder Singh Kaypee, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Naresh Gujral, along with MLAs Navtej Singh Cheema, Sukhjinder Randhawa and Rana Gurmeet Singh.

Other members include former Union minister Preneet Kaur, Ajit chief editor Barjinder Singh Hamdard, historians JS Grewal, Kirpal Singh and BN Goswamy, Punjab Arts Council chairman Surjit Patar, environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal, the state chief secretary, chief principal secretary to chief minister and deputy commissioners of Kapurthala and Gurdaspur districts.