Minister livid over corridor project plaque

RANDHAWA OBJECTS TO BADALS’ NAMES ON KARTARPUR FOUNDATION STONE

The foundation stone of a road that will link the border belt of Punjab’s Gurdaspur district with the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara corridor was laid in Mann village near here yesterday amid a political controversy over credit for the approval of the project.

Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh laid the foundation stone of the project on a screen by pressing a button.

The actual foundation stone was removed by the authorities just three hours before the event as Punjab cabinet minister and Dera Baba Nanak legislator Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa objected to the names of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union Minister Harsimrat Badal on the stone.

A clearly upset Randhawa announced that he would “boycott” the foundation stone-laying ceremony, and even went to the extend of putting a black tape on the names of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Punjab PWD Minister Vijay Singla and his own (Randhawa).

Officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), sensing that the situation could get unpleasant in the presence of the VicePresident and other dignitaries, removed the foundation stone and replaced it with the digital one.

The foundation on the screen carried the names of Naidu, Punjab Governor V.P. Singh Badnore, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Naidu said that the Kartarpur Corridor had the potential of being a historic occasion and bring people of India and Pakistan closer to each other.

“Guru Nanak Dev always spread the message of love and peace. This corridor project will bring both countries and their people closer,” Naidu said. In his address, Gadkari said the Kartarpur corridor was a historic step, which will help devotees offer prayers at the shrine in Pakistan.

The chief minister thanked Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan for enabling the Kartarpur Corridor to become a reality.