New Delhi, November 2
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee appears to be positively inclined to allow a symbolic or token jatha to visit Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak on November 19.
Even though Mr Vajpayee feels that the general situation in Pakistan continues to remain disturbed, he believes sending a jatha as has been the practice since the trauma of Partition might help in countering the false propaganda and forces inimical to this country.
National Commission for Minorities Vice-Chairman Tarlochan Singh called on Mr Vajpayee here this afternoon and impressed upon him the need to send a jatha to Nankana Sahib. He told the Prime Minister that the Centre needed to act expeditiously in taking a decision on sending a jatha to Pakistan as the time on hand was limited.
Mr Tarlochan Singh stressed that when members of the Sikh community from other parts of the world congregates at Nankana Sahib, there was always a tendency by the authorities in Pakistan to whip up anti-India sentiments. This, in turn, created bad blood among the Sikh community spread over the globe, he said.
He urged the Prime Minister that this aspect of granting permission for sending a jatha needed to be considered in wider national interest so that the susceptibilities of the Sikh faith were not hurt. The Union Government can decide the composition and the strength of the jatha as well as who should take the lead in organising it, he added.
Mr Tarlochan Singh said Mr Vajpayee’s response was highly favourable. The Prime Minister agreed that there should be proper representation from India on the occasion at Nankana Sahib despite Indo-Pakistan ties having touched an all-time low because of Islamabad’s
intransigence in stopping cross-border terrorism.
Later, Mr Tarlochan Singh called on Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and underlined the need to allow a symbolic jatha of sizeable number organised by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Amritsar.
Mr Advani is also inclined to accord due importance to the request of sending a jatha to Nankana Sahib for the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak. It is widely believed that the Vajpayee government giving the green signal for the jatha will be a very good gesture and welcomed by everybody.
Mr Advani has urged Mr Tarlochan Singh to meet him again after Divali on Tuesday before firming up the Centre’s mind about granting permission to a jatha to visit Nankana Sahib in Pakistan.
