Only we have permission for nagar kirtan, says Sarna

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 10 

The president of the Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi, Paramjit Singh Sarna, on Tuesday said only his party had the permission to take a Nagar Kirtan (religious procession) to Nankana Sahib, Pakistan to mark the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev.

Addressing a press conference here Sarna said the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) had categorically stated that only the SADD had been authorised to take out its planned Nagar Kirtan through Pakistan. 

He questioned the leadership of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and its president Manjinder Singh Sirsa to account for funds he collected from the Sikh community in the name of this cross-border procession.

Sarna said “The PSGPC chief Satwant Singh, in his video appealed to all Sikh organisations to join the Nagar Kirtan organised by the SADD,” Sarna claimed. 

Sarna and his brother and party general-secretary Harvinder Singh Sarna were on a whirlwind tour of Pakistan’s Punjab province this weekend. They were received warmly by the provincial Chief Minister and Governor along with a host of ministers and leaders at the provincial and federal levels.

The Pakistani establishment offered full support to the Panthak Nagar Kirtan scheduled from Sri Nanak Pio in Delhi on October 28 to culminate at Sri Nankana Sahib on October 31.

During their visit, PSGPC chief Satwant Singh dismissed as false reports that Sirsa has also been given permissions for a similar Nagar Kirtan bound from Delhi to Sri Nankana Sahib in Pakistan.

“But Sirsa, has unleashed this false propaganda and collected funds for a Nagar Kirtan for which he had no permissions,” Sarna said. 

The SADD chief demanded the DSGMC president, to explain what he had done with the collections for a non-existent programme. They demanded the DSGMC president immediately pay off Guru Harkrishan Public School staff from the collections he made in the name of the Nagar Kirtan. The staff had not been paid wages, Sarna alleged.