Fee for visiting Kartarpur gurdwara sought by Pak is 'jazia' on Sikhs: BJP national secy

BJP leader Tarun Chugh on Saturday termed as "jazia" (a tax non-Muslims) a service fee of USD 20 that Pakistan seeks to levy on Indian pilgrims travelling to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib through the proposed Kartarpur corridor.

He alleged that this is yet another attempt by the neighbouring country to scuttle the scheduled opening of the corridor.

At a joint secretary-level meeting between India and Pakistan on September 4, the two sides could not finalise the draft agreement on the corridor, with Pakistan insisting on charging a service fee from Indian pilgrims and not allowing protocol officials to accompany them.

In a statement, Chugh said, "The USD 20 fee is nothing but 'jazia' to be charged from Sikhs. The Narendra Modi government will not allow it at any cost."