Punjab Congress President Sidhu Arrives At Kartarpur Corridor To Pay Respects

Sidhu's visit comes as a new squabble in the Punjab Congress erupted when his name was left off of CM Channi's group of state cabinet members that visited the Kartarpur Sahib on Thursday.

Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu. (File Photo)

New Delhi: Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday arrived at the Kartarpur Corridor at Dera Bana Nanak in Gurdaspur to pay a visit to the Sikh holy site Gurdwara Darbar Sahib In Karpartur in Pakistan.

Earlier, a list of 50 people was sent to the central government on behalf of the Congress party. These names were divided into three parts and allowed to go to Kartarpur Sahib. Earlier, state Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, along with two cabinet ministers Manpreet Badal and Vijayindra Singla, besides some legislators had gone to the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan to pay their respects.

Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is the holiest place of faith for the Sikhs. With state assembly elections scheduled to be held in Punjab after a few months, political parties do not want to be behind in capitalizing on this opportunity. Apart from the Congress, the leaders of BJP and Aam Aadmi Party also want to reach Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara as soon as possible and register their attendance.

Previously, India had announced that it will allow a 'jatha' of 1500 pilgrims to visit Pakistan via Kartarpur Corridor on the occasion of Guru Nanak Dev's birth anniversary from November 17 to 26, 2021.

Since March 2020, the moment of Sikh pilgrims to Pakistan via corridor has been suspended in view of the pandemic, and later Pakistan put a travel ban from people travelling from India after the surge in the covid-19 cases was reported in April 2021.

During his visit to Kartarpur Sahib in February 2020, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the Kartarpur Corridor as 'Corridor of Hope.'