Centre okay with Pak cricket ties but denies Sikh jatha visit to Nankana Sahib: Punjab CM

Seeking the reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor and permission for Sikh jathas to visit Nankana Sahib, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today said if the Centre could allow a cricket match between India and Pakistan during the Asia Cup, why could Punjabis not visit their shrines in Pakistan?

Related news: Centre denies nod to send jathas to Pak for Gurpurb of Guru Nanak, Sikh bodies fume

Mann said he would write to the Centre on the issue soon. This is the second time in the past two days that Mann has spoken against the Indo-Pak match. On Saturday, Mann had questioned the holding of the match, saying if a film of Diljit Dosanjh was banned in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and the actor was called a traitor, how could the match be justified?

“If you can allow a cricket match between India and Pakistan during the Asia Cup, why should Punjabis’ devotion towards their shrines in Pakistan be ignored? Either you allow all kinds of relationships with Pakistan, or you do not allow anything. You can’t have cricket relations with Pakistan, because the ICC is headed by 'Bade sahib ke laadle', but tell the Sikhs that they can’t go to Pakistan because of deteriorating relations between the two countries,” said Mann, adding that the reverence that Punjabis hold for the places of worship of Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan should not be ignored.

The voices against the denial of permission to Sikh jathas to travel to Pakistan and the demand for the reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor are getting louder, with many organisations condemning the move. Today Anandpur Sahib MP Malvinder Singh Kang also raised the issue, saying he condemned the decision taken by the Centre to stop Sikh jathas from going to Nankana Sahib for the Parkash Utsav of Guru Nanak Dev.

Rs 48 cr received in CM's Relief Fund

Punjab has so far received Rs 48 crore in the CM's Relief Fund. Mann, while reacting to an advertisement by Indian Advertising Agency seeking aid for flood-hit Punjab by contributing to the PM Cares Fund, said relief should come through the CM's Relief Fund so that it could be used in the state only for rebuilding the infrastructure.

“While the Kartarpur Sahib corridor remains closed, trade via Wagah is shut and Sikh pilgrims cannot go to Pakistan, trade with Karachi via Gujarat and Mumbai is allowed. Does it not reflect their (BJP's) anti-Punjab and anti-Punjabi mentality? They hate Punjabis, maybe because farmers forced them to withdraw the three farm laws,” said the CM, adding that while Afghanistan was sent immediate aid, Punjab had to wait for long to draw the attention of the Centre.

Mann also asked state BJP president Sunil Jakhar and Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Bittu, referring to them as Congress unit of BJP, to clarify their stand on the issue. Mann said while Assam and Bihar got economic packages worth thousands of crores, Punjab got peanuts in comparison.