Kartarpur Gurudwara management row: Subramanian Swamy slams Captain Amarinder's government

Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subramanian Swamy on Thursday hit out at the Pakistani government for taking over the management of Kartarpur Gurudwara from the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) to a separate trust. Taking to Twitter, Dr Swamy asked, "has Pakistan Islamic Dictatorship has taken over the management of Kartarpur Guru Nanak Gurudwara?"

'But Congi Punjab Govt was interested...'

The BJP leader also slammed the Congress government in Punjab and said that three years ago "I had said Indian troops should cross over and take over the Gurudwara. But Congi Punjab Govt was interested only taking visa and go on pilgrimage for Sikhs."

However, amid massive protests over Pakistan's decision, a top Islamabad official said on Thursday that the Sikh body will be part of the new management.

The Economic Coordination Committee of the Federal Cabinet recently approved the establishment of Project Management Unit (PMU) Kartarpur Corridor, a self-financing body, for management and maintenance of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib under the administrative control of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB).

India on Thursday described Pakistan's decision as "highly condemnable", saying it runs against the religious sentiments of the Sikh community.

"Such actions only expose the reality of the Pakistani government and its leadership's tall claims of preserving and protecting the rights and welfare of the religious minority communities," the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi. "Pakistan is called upon to reverse its arbitrary decision to deprive the Sikh minority community its right to manage affairs of the Holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib," it said.

'Pakistan's Sikh body will be part of it'

The EPTB is a statutory board that manages religious properties and shrines of Hindus and Sikhs who had migrated to India following the partition.

ETPB spokesperson Amir Hashmi said on Thursday that the PSGPC will be part of it. "The federal government early this week had handed over the administrative control of the Kartarpur Corridor to the ETPB. Earlier, the board was only looking after the affairs of the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib," he told PTI. Hashmi said that earlier several other agencies and departments were involved in the matters related to the corridor and now it has come under one department.

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When asked why no administrative or other role has been given to the PSGPC, Hashmi said that the Sikh body is fully involved as it is part of ETPB. The Kartarpur is a true example of Sikh-Muslim friendship as well as interfaith harmony, he said.

"The government of Pakistan has spent 17 billion rupees on phase one of the Kartarpur Corridor Project so far. About 875 acres land has been acquired for Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, he said, adding that the second phase will be launched soon.

Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is located in Pakistan's Narowal district across the river Ravi, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India. It is the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev, who had spent the last 18 years of his life in Kartarpur.

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