SGPC to accord welcome to Trudeau

SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal said today the religious body will accord a warm welcome to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. He also demanded that there should be no imposition of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 'langar' served in Gurudwaras. Longowal who was here to attend the annual convocation of SGPC run Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College, said the SGPC had made elaborate arrangements for Trudeau's visit. The Punjab government is going to celebrate the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev but the government had not invited the SGPC so far to join the function, he said. Guru Nanak Dev is the Guru of humanity and if an invitation comes, the SGPC will definitely participate, he said.

Asked about state Congress president Sunil Jakhar's statement about GST on 'langar', Longowal said SGPC members were going to meet the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Langars should be freed from GST, he said. He said SGPC always served langar for people and even in affected areas during any tragedy of humanity.