Celebrate 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak befittingly

CM urges parties, SGPC chief to set aside petty considerations

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday appealed to all political parties, religious and social organisations to set aside "petty considerations" to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in a "befitting manner".

Amarinder Singh urged the 'sant samaj' (the fraternity of seers) to come forward in prevailing upon the leaders of these parties and organisations to ensure their participation for commemoration of the historic event.

He also urged SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal to join hands with the state government to make the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev a "grand success".

The Chief Minister solicited cooperation from all organisations in the development of the historical town of Sultanpur Lodhi associated with the first Sikh Guru as holy city.

"The life and philosophy of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji was the common heritage of Punjab and therefore all the political/religious parties/groups/individuals should sink their political differences and come together to disseminate the message of the first Guru," Amarinder Singh was quoted as saying in an official release.

Addressing representatives of the 'Sant samaj' during the executive committee meeting of 550th Prakash Purab celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev here, the Chief Minister stressed that politics should be kept out of pious and religious occasions.

Welcoming the inputs provided by various 'sant samaj' heads to celebrate this momentous event with religious fervour and gaiety, Amarinder Singh sought their whole-hearted support and cooperation to make this event memorable.

The Chief Minister said, "We are all blessed to have got the opportunity to celebrate this historic and sacred occasion during our lifetime."

The government has made a sincere effort to ensure that this mega event is observed in a befitting manner, he said, urging all organisations to cut across party lines to celebrate the momentous occasion in the spirit it deserves.

Amarinder Singh said that all-out efforts were being made to elicit maximum participation of people from all walks of life to disseminate the ideology and teachings of Guru across the globe.

The Chief Minister said that the life and philosophy of first Sikh master Guru Nanak Dev were the common heritage of Punjab and therefore all the political/religious parties/groups/individuals should sink their difference and come together on a common platform to celebrate the occasion in unison.

He implored the 'Sant samaj' to coordinate with the executive committee on regular basis with their suggestions to fine-tune the programmes so as to propagate Guru Nanak's rich legacy of universal brotherhood, amity, love, compassion and harmony in the world.

On the occasion, Amarinder Singh also released the logo of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. The logo was designed by Tulsi Devi, a post-graduate student of Government Arts College, Chandigarh, who was honoured by the chief minister with a cash award of Rs 21,000.

Responding to the concern shown by the members of the 'Sant samaj', Amarinder Singh promised to bring all the culprits involved in desecration of Guru Granth Sahib and other holy scriptures to book.

He said that Special Investigation Team formed by the state government was on the job and all perpetrators of such heinous crime would be punished as per the law of the land. He assured the 'Sant samaj' that ongoing investigations in these cases would be brought to their logical conclusion.

Earlier, Baba Sarabjot Singh Bedi emphasised the need to formulate a sub-committee of 'Sant samaj' to coordinate with the Executive Committee of state government for the commemoration of this historic event in a meaningful and result-oriented manner.

He also requested the chief minister to make optimum use of the occasion to disseminate the life and teachings of Guru Nanak Dev in every nook and corner of the world.

Cabinet ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Vijay Inder Singla, PPCC President Sunil Jakhar were with the chief minister when the SGPC president called on him.