Punjab CM invites PM Modi, Manmohan Singh
NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind is expected to flag off the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, next month on the invitation of Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, who himself will walk across the Kartarpur corridor to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan where the first Sikh guru spent the last few years of his life.
Amarinder Singh also extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for attending the celebration, but a senior official in the home ministry, the nodal ministry on the Kartarpur corridor, would only say: “The date of the Prime Minister’s visit is yet to be made public.”
Separately, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to join a special all-party “jatha” (delegation) that will walk across the border to Darbar Sahib, also known as Kartarpur
Sahib, after the corridor is thrown open on November 9. Amarinder Singh will lead the group that will participate in the main event.
The Kartarpur corridor, which will connect Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, with Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur, is expected to open on November 9 and will allow pilgrims from India easier access to the shrine that was established in 1522 by Guru Nanak, and where he died in 1539.
Work on the four-lane highway, a bridge, and a passenger terminal that are part of the project is in full swing on the Indian side, with Pakistan recently announcing that it would complete work on its part of the corridor in October.
Pakistan is building the corridor from the Indian border to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib while the other part from Dera Baba Nanak up to the border is being constructed by India in time for the 550th birth anniversary of the founder of the Sikh faith -November 12.
The corridor’s opening comes
against the backdrop of an escalation in India-Pakistan tensions over New Delhi’s move in August to nullify Article 370 of the Constitution that conferred special status on Jammu & Kashmir and reorganise the state into two Union Territories -- J&K and Ladakh.
Amarinder Singh on Thursday clarified that neither he nor Manmohan Singh were going on a visit to Pakistan for the Kartarpur corridor’s opening, responding to some reports that suggested, incorrectly, that the former PM had accepted an invitation from Pakistan for the inauguration.
“There is no question of me going [to Pakistan for Kartarpur corridor opening] and I feel Dr Manmohan Singh will not go as well,” he told journalists, pointing out that there was a vast difference between visiting Pakistan and going to the Gurdwara across the border through the corridor to pay their obeisance to Guru Nanak.
Asked if Pakistan was playing a game over the Kartarpur corridor, Amarinder Singh told reporters to pose the question to Prime Minister Imran Khan.
India, on its part, is fully prepared to ensure the security and safety of its pilgrims, he added.
Manmohan Singh’s acceptance of the Punjab chief minister’s invitation came days after Pakistan went public with its decision to ask the former PM to visit Kartarpur for the opening of the corridor.
It is not clear if the Imran Khan government sent a formal invitation.
Congress leaders had indicated that it was unlikely that Manmohan Singh would rush into accepting Pakistan’s invitation.
“The invitation is from Punjab chief minister and not from Pakistan,” a close aide to Manmohan Singh said on Thursday about his decision to join the “jatha”.
Manmohan Singh never visited Pakistan when he was prime minister from 2004 to 2014 although he did come close to making a trip when the two countries were working on a plan to resolve differences over the Kashmir issue in 2005-06.