Punjab CM pays obeisance at Golden Temple, holds closed-door meeting with Akal Takht Jathedar

AMRITSAR: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday paid obeisance at the Golden Temple here and held a closed-door meeting with Akal Takht Jathedar Gyani Harpreet Singh ahead of the Operation Bluestar anniversary.

Mann after paying obeisance at the Sikh shrine went straight to the residence of the Jathedar.

Tight security arrangements were made keeping in view his visit and the Operation Bluestar anniversary on June 6.

However, what transpired at the meeting was not shared by the chief minister with the media when he came out of the residence of the Jathedar.

According to sources, both held the closed-door meeting for over an hour.

An official statement said Mann paid obeisance at the Golden Temple and prayed to the God for peace, progress and prosperity in the state.

"I bowed my head in reverence to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib and prayed that my government's every action should be aimed at making Punjab a frontrunner state in the county," said Mann according to the statement.

During the meeting with the Jathedar, the chief minister held deliberations on social and religious issues, said the statement.

The chief minister said that the Golden Temple and the Akal Takht have since long remained a source of both worldly and spiritual powers.

Mann said not only Sikhs, every Punjabi derives power from the land blessed by the great Gurus.

The chief minister said people of the state have given a whopping mandate to his government so he had paid reverence at this divine place to seek blessings of the Almighty to fulfil all aspirations of people.

Bhagwant Mann said he was feeling rejuvenated after paying obeisance at the shrine, which filled him with new vigour and enthusiasm to serve people with a missionary zeal.

Meanwhile, the security has been beefed up in the city as a large number of Sikh devotees are expected to throng the Akal Takht on June 6.

The Army had carried out the Operation Bluestar in June 1984 to flush out militants from the Golden Temple complex.

Mann had on Saturday reviewed the law and order situation ahead of the anniversary of Operation Bluestar and said the state police has been put on high alert for maintaining peace in the state.

The CM had said no one should be allowed to disturb the hard-earned peace of the state at any cost.

Last month, the Jathedar had advised Sikhs to keep licensed weapons, drawing criticism from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

The Punjab government had recently pruned the Jathedar's security cover.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) had later claimed that the Punjab government restored the security cover of the Akal Takht Jathedar but he refused to take it back.