Chandigarh: Opposition MLAs created an uprorar in the Punjab assembly, storming the Well of the House and walking out over the questioning by police of some pilgrims returning from the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan. Punjab Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa told the assembly that some pilgrims were questioned following information from the Intelligence Bureau unit in Amritsar.
Opposition MLAs accused the government of harassing pilgrims making use of the visa-free Kartarpur Corridor to visit the Sikh shrine, just across the border from Gurdaspur district. The uproar came days after Punjab Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta triggered a row, suggesting in the media that Pakistani agencies could make overtures to Indian pilgrims to Kartarpur Sahib.
Shiromani Akali Dal’s legislative wing leader leader Sharanjit Singh Dhillon raised the issue during the Zero Hour. “Devotees are being questioned by Punjab police,” he said, citing a media report, and sought a reply from the Congress-led government.
Aam Aadmi Party legislator Kultar Singh Sandhwan described the questioning of pilgrims as “shameful” and sought the immediate dismissal of DGP Dinkar Gupta over this. Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia sought the suspension of Gurdaspur’s senior superintendent of police and a station house officer.
Jails minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa quoted from a letter written on February 17 by an IB official to the Gurdaspur SSP, seeking the questioning of some pilgrims. He said the state government will take strict action against the SSP and the SHO if they are found at fault.
SAD members stormed the Well of the House facing the Speaker's podium and then staged a walkout. AAP MLAs too entered the Well, before walking out of the House.
Waive passport, reduce fee for pilgrims
Earlier a resolution was passed in the assembly urging Centre to ask Pakistan to waive the passport requirement and reduce the $20 fee for pilgrims visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib through Kartarpur Corridor. The resolution was moved by Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa in the house. “Many people who want to pay obeisance at the Kartarpur gurdwara do not have passports and that is why they cannot go there,” Randhawa said, suggesting that documents like the Aadhaar could be allowed instead of the passport.
He also sought simplification of the online registration process for visiting the shrine where Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev spent his final years. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said he would take an all-party delegation to the Centre and urge it to take up the issue with the Pakistan government.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Ijaz Shah had informed National Assembly that Islamabad was considering a proposal to allow Indian pilgrims to enter the Kartarpur Corridor without passport in order to attract more visitors to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. For this to happen, the memorandum of understanding signed (MoU) signed by the two nations would have to be revised
