No one will sit on opening stage of Dera Baba Nanak function: SGPC
KARTARPUR CORRIDOR Gurdwara body chief says PM Modi will also sit with sangat on the ground
:Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal on Friday said no dignitary will sit on the stage of the inaugural ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor at Dera Baba Nanak November 9 and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi will sit with the sangat (devotees) on the ground.
The head of the gurdwara body, which has been assigned to manage the stage at Shikar Machhian village in Dera Baba Nanak sub-division, said the function will be purely religious and there will be parkash (installation) of Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, on the stage.
“Hazuri ragi jatha of the Golden Temple will perform Gurbani kirtan after the bhog ceremony of akhand path (nonstop recitation of Guru Granth Sahib). It will be followed by ardas (prayer) and then the PM will inaugurate the corridor,” he said over phone.
Whether Prime Minister Modi will address the gathering on the occasion, Longowal said, “Yes, he will address briefly. I will deliver the welcome address. Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh will also be present there.”
On October 31, state jails and cooperation minister and Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had objected to the SGPC managing the stage here even as the pandal is being set up by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
He had said central agencies were in touch with him to hold the inaugural function on the stage set up by the state government but they changed their decision at the last moment. He had also written a letter to the PM to intervene into the matter.
Interestingly, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is mobilising its rank and file for the gathering for the inaugural function. Meetings are being held by the party across Gurdaspur district.