Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president G.S. Longowal on Friday told ANI that they have invited Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan to attend the 'nagar kirtan' on occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. The event will be held at Gurudwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on July 25. "You are ably leading Pakistan to new heights of growth, religious peace and brotherhood is well prevailing in Pakistan under your able leadership," Longowal wrote in his invite to Khan.
GS Longowal, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee President has invited Pakistan PM Imran Khan for participating in grand 'nagar kirtan' beginning from Gurudwara Nankana Sahib,to celebrate Guru Nanak Dev Ji's 550th birth anniversary on July 25. pic.twitter.com/JKgHybVgQj
— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2019
Earlier, Punjab minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa Sunday said the politicisation of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev should be avoided and any controversy at this stage could put a spanner in the preparation.
ALSO READ
- Ex-Punjab IPS officer shoots self after being duped over Rs 8 crore in sophisticated wealth management and stock trading scam
- Why Punjab declared Amritsar, Talwandi Sabo, and Anandpur Sahib as holy cities
- Who is Rajbir Singh? How the Indian Army deserter was caught before being flown to Europe by Pakistani handlers
- VB–G RAM G vs MGNREGA | Bhagwant Mann fears BJP may even rename India to 'Deen Dayal Upadhay Nagar'
- What happened to Kanwar Digvijay Singh aka Rana Balachauria? Kabbadi promoter’s murder linked to Sidhu Moosewala killers
- Punjab Congress suspends Navjot Kaur Sidhu over 'Rs 500 Crore for CM' remark
The senior Congress leader asserted that the state government was committed to celebrate the occasion in full tandem with the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) under the aegis of the Akal Takht (highest temporal seat of Sikhs).
"The politicisation of the occasion as sacred and pious as the 550th 'Parkash Purb' of Guru Nanak Dev should be avoided at all costs as the occasion is fast approaching and any controversy at this stage could put a spanner in the preparations," Randhawa said in a statement.
But, the recent development in which SGPC President Gobind Singh Longowal went with the delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), led by its chief Sukhbir Singh Badal to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi "smacked of politicising" the sacred occasion, he alleged.
The Congress leader said it would have been better had the invitations been extended jointly on behalf of the Punjab government and the SGPC as the present state government is duly-elected by the people of the state and is their representative.
He also said the coordination between the SGPC and the state government is the need of the hour as it would send all the positive signals concerning the celebrations.
On July 1, the SAD delegation had invited Modi to attend a function to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on November 12 at Sultanpur Lodhi in Punjab.
-Inputs from PTI
