Longowal keeps off Chawla photo row

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 30

Dissociating himself from the controversy over his photo with Pakistan-based pro-Khalistan activist Gopal Singh Chawla, SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal said here today that he did not even recognise Chawla. Longowal returned through the Attari-Wagah joint check post after attending the groundbreaking ceremony of the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib corridor.

Chawla, former secretary of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), had shared his picture with Longowal on his Facebook page.

“We were invited by the Pakistan Prime Minister for the ceremony and sat at the designated place as per the protocol fixed by the Pakistan authorities. How do I know who is sitting next to me? I never met Chawla in my life and didn’t recognise him. The issue is unnecessarily being given a political colour,” Longowal added.

He said he held a meeting with PSGPC president Tara Singh, former president Bishen Singh and Evacuee Trust Property Board secretary Tariq Wazeer Khan to discuss the dilapidated condition of historic shrines and the joint programmes being chalked out for the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak next year.

He added that soon a joint committee of the SGPC and PSGPC would be constituted for the purpose.

“We have also offered to raise infrastructure for accommodating devotees and serving langar near Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib,” he said.