Chandigarh: Condemning the Pakistan government's decision of imposing $20 per pilgrim as service charge for using the upcoming Kartarpur corridor, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) said the neighbouring country is trying to impose ‘jazia’ (a tax non-Muslims pay under Sharia law) on Indian devotees.
Addressing the media at the annual Chappar Mela in Ludhiana district’s Jagraon sub-division, senior party leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia said Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan backtracked on his earlier promise of free travel and if they don’t take back the decision, the Punjab government should bear the cost of pilgrimage. “This will put financial burden on millions of pilgrims to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, many of whom might not be well-off,” said the SAD leader.
SAD president and Ferozepur MP Sukhbir Singh Badal thanked the Centre, particularly PM Narendra Modi, for pruning the controversial blacklist of Sikh foreign nationals who were barred from travelling to India for decades. “Of 314 people, the name of 312 people has been removed from the blacklist. Now these people can visit their homeland,” he said.
Days after SAD expressed views on imposing service charges on pilgrims, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh asked Pakistan to withdraw the proposed fee. Amarinder said, “Mughal emperor Akbar had abolished the controversial and regressive tax during his rule. The proposed service/facilitation charge is against the basic spirit of Sikh tenet of allowing ‘khulle darshan deedar’ (open access) at the gurdwaras that remained in Pakistan after partition.”
“I have already sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention regarding the withdrawal of the service charge,” he pointed out. He had suggested that the ministry of external affairs (MEA) take up the matter in a bilateral meeting for an early resolution of the issue. He expressed the confidence that the work on the corridor on the Indian territory will be completed by October 30, expressing concerns about the pace of progress in Pakistan.
Capt has no right to give water to Haryana
Referring to Amarinder Singh’s statement on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal while addressing the rally earlier, Sukhbir said the CM does not have any right to give an extra drop of water to the neighbouring Haryana. “The Akali Dal will not let state’s water go to Haryana at any cost. The CM was part of a conspiracy to give Punjab waters to Haryana as he welcomed then PM Indira Gandhi when she came to inaugurate the canal project in Punjab,” he said.
