'India was not born in 1947': PM Modi tells Sikh leaders
New Delhi/IBNS: India was not born in 1947, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an interaction with senior Sikh leaders at his home in Delhi on Friday ahead of the Punjab assembly election.
"This country was hardly born in 1947. Our gurus went through so much... We suffered so much oppression during the Emergency. I was underground at that time. I used to wear a Sikh disguise to hide. I used to wear a pagdi," PM Modi told the gathering as heard in the video released by his Twitter handle.
The meeting comes two days ahead of the Punjab assembly elections.
In an attempt to reach out to the community, PM Modi said that Congress failed to ensure that the Sikh shrine Kartarpur Sahib stayed in India during the Partition of 1947. Kartarpur Sahib is now in Pakistan and is around six km from Punjab.
"They could not reach an agreement to bring Kartarpur, which is six km away. I started talks through the diplomatic channel. When I used to stay in Punjab I used to look at (Kartarpur Sahib) using binoculars. Then I used to think we have to do something," PM Modi said.
"This was such a holy task that with the blessings of Gurus, we did it. What we have done in such a short time, this would not have been possible without devotion," he added.
A very special interaction with the Sant Samaj and distinguished members of the Sikh community. pic.twitter.com/vjCTJ3wMW3
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 18, 2022
The Sikh leaders also praised PM Modi for taking action on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and for building the Kartarpur corridor with Pakistan.
They thanked him for the government's steps in constituting a SIT on the 1984 riots, for the Kartarpur corridor and for declaring December 26 as 'Veer Baal Diwas'.
The leaders gifted a kripan to PM Modi and thanked him for having a good understanding of Sikh issues and Gurus.
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