Jakhar seeks BJP's clarification over Sidhu's efforts for passage to Kartarpur

Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar on Monday asked the BJP Government at the Centre to clarify its stand on the issue of getting passage to Kartarpur, which has been a long pending demand of the Sikh community.

Appreciating Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu’s initiative he took during his recent visit to Pakistan, Jakhar said that now the ball is in the court of the Indian Government. “It is up to the External Affairs Ministry to take up the matter with the Pakistan Government at the diplomatic letter…It is all the more important in view of the coming 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nana Dev,” he said.

Taking a dig at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for writing a letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Jakhar pointed out, “When Dr Manmohan Singh, as the Prime Minister, wrote such letters to Pakistan leaders, he (Modi) taunted these as ‘love letters’. Now, Modi should explain what he has written to Khan and how different his letter is from those he referred as ‘love letters’.”

Jakhar also congratulated Sidhu for presenting a ‘Kashmiri’ Pashmina shawl to the newly elected Pakistan Prime Minister. “The message should not be lost on any one that Sidhu conveyed with such subtlety yet so strongly that Kashmir belongs to us and we are gifting you a Pashmina shawl from there,” Jakhar remarked, adding, “but you don’t expect the BJP to understand such subtle but powerful messages”.