Manmohan to visit Kartarpur Gurdwara

NEW DELHI: Indian former prime minister Manmohan Singh will visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan for the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak as part of an all-party group next month as he accepted an invitation by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind have also accepted the Punjab government’s invitation to be a part of the celebrations on the opening of Kartarpur Corridor to be held in the Indian Punjab. Amarinder Singh called on Manmohan Singhat his residence in Delhi and asked him to attend the first all-party 'jatha' (a march organised by armed Sikhs) to Kartarpur Sahib on November 9.

The Punjab CM’s media adviser tweeted that the former PM has accepted the invitation. This would first require clearance from the central government. The media adviser said Singh would also attend the “main event at Sultanpur Lodhi to mark Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji's 550th Prakash Purab”. Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh accepts @capt_amarinder’s invitation to join 1st Jatha to Sri Kartarpur Gurdwara on Nov 9, will also attend Sultanpur Lodhi main event @550yrsGuruNanak pic.twitter.com/cD9rJoZUBT

During his meeting with Manmohan Singh, Amarinder Singh also urged for his personal intervention to facilitate the political clearance for allowing the special all-party "jatha" to visit Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, the birth place of the first Sikh guru, on the historic occasion of the corridor's opening. He requested that a group of 21 persons may be allowed to visit Nankana Sahib to organise a "path" (reading of religious scriptures) on the occasion of the 550th Prakash Purb from October 30 to November 3 and bring a "Nagar Kirtan" to Sultanpur Lodhi via Amritsar (Wagah) later in the day. The "Nagar Kirtan" will arrive at Sultanpur Lodhi in Punjab's Kapurthala district on November 4. The chief minister has also written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, seeking a formal clearance for the Nankana Sahib delegation visit and the "Nagar Kirtan" to be brought from Pakistan to Punjab, according to an official spokesperson.