Birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev: Punjab minister attends coordination panel meeting

Amid a war of words over the joint celebration of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, a Punjab government representative on Tuesday attended the meeting of the SGPC-convened coordination panel for the first time.

Punjab Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, along with Amritsar Congress (Rural) president Bhagwantpal Singh and Akali leaders Tota Singh and Jagir Kaur, attended the meeting in Amritsar.

Randhawa told the media that a detailed discussion was held and efforts would be made to hold joint celebrations.

"Whatever new issues came up will be discussed with the CM. Efforts will be made to hold the celebrations jointly," said the jails minister.

He assured that the government would not indulge in politics over the issue.

"There will not be any politics from the government side on this issue and efforts will be made to follow the message of Guru Nanak Dev. Whatever happened in the past should now be left behind," Randhawa said, adding that the next meeting would be held soon.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Gobind Singh Longowal told PTI that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere, adding that everybody wanted joint celebrations.

"The only agenda of the meeting was to celebrate the event jointly at one stage. Now, there is a strong possibility of organising the event jointly," he said.

According to the SGPC, the state government had failed to send its two representatives in the last two meetings on August 14 and September 6 in Amritsar.

Longowal thanked Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for sending his representative to the meeting.