Political one-upmanship and desperation to claim credit overshadowed the ground-breaking ceremony for Kartarpur corridor on Monday. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh laid a digital foundation stone after a state minister black-taped few names on the original plaque.
The route will facilitate easy passage to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, 3 km inside Pakistan. Guru Nanak Dev had spent the last 18 years of his life here.
The drama unfolded after minister Sukhjinder Randhawa objected to the names of former CM Parkash Singh Badal, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union Minister Harsimrat Badal on the foundation stone.
"Why are the names of Parkash and Sukhbir Badal on the stone, they are not part of the executive, it is not a BJP-Akali Dal event," said Randhawa as he masked their names on the stone plaque with a black tape in Gurdaspur.
Sensing trouble and embarrassment, the National Highway Authority of India replaced the stone, just three hours before the event, with a digital one with the names of VP Naidu, Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore, CM Amarinder Singh and Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
In her address at the event, Harsimrat Badal targeted the Congress over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Gurdaspur MP and Punjab unit Congress president Sunil Jakhar hit back, charging Akali Dal leadership for making Punjab a "drug hub".
The Akali-BJP leadership is locked in a bitter spat with the Congress, particularly state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was the first to announce that Pakistan was keen to open the corridor. Harsimrat Badal had branded him a 'traitor' for hugging the Pakistan Army chief. She is now herself headed to Pakistan as the Centre's representative for the foundation stone ceremony on the other side of the border.
The NDA government decided to advance the date of the ceremony to November 26 to ensure that it was done before Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of their portion of the Kartarpur corridor on November 28. The Congress government in Punjab was going to hold its own function this week, but the CM decided to be a part of the Centre's function itself.
The decision to build the passage – from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to the International Border – was taken by the Union Cabinet on November 22. Kartarpur is located in Shakargarh in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab. Speaking on the occasion, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said the corridor construction work will be completed within four months.