Kartarpur corridor: Punjab to invite Dalai Lama, Pope for inauguration

CHANDIGARH: Optimistic of getting a go-ahead to visit Pakistan ahead of the Kartarpur corridor inauguration, Punjab cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said on Friday that Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama will be among the spiritual leaders invited for the inauguration function in November.
Randhawa told media persons on Friday, “Apart from Pope and Shahi Imam of Delhi, other religious heads like Shankaracharya will be sent an invitation through the chief minister.The plan is to open the corridor on November 8 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend the event. There would be brainstorming sessions on the teachings of Guru Nanak.”
“Punjab government has sent a letter to the Centre on August 16 in connection with the visit of three ministers, including myself, to Pakistan to review the preparations for the corridor’s inauguration,” he said.
At the same time, Randhawa said compared to the pace of work on Pakistan side, work was relatively slower on Indian side. “The Punjab government has not much to do with this and central agencies are involved. The intent of the centre cannot be doubted but attention has ben diverted between Dera Baba Nanak and Sultanpur Lodhi. We need to get more serious about the whole thing. More manpower should be pressed into action and work should be carried out in three shifts,” he said.
“I have spoken to descendants of Sai Mia Mir and Bhai Mardana to come down to Dera Baba Nanak. We will also request to other families associated with Guru Nanak to come down to India for the Guru’s 550th birth anniversary celebrations.”
Asked how soon the Punjab government delegation will visit Pakistan, Randhawa said as soon as the state gets a go-ahead, the next day we will cross over. We have to go by road and we are positive about getting the permission, he said.
The visit by three cabinet ministers – Randhawa, Charanjit Singh Channi and O P Soni — to Pakistan was approved by the Centre last month, just a week before it scrapped Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, which subsequently led to strained relations between the two countries.