PM hosts prominent Sikh personalities

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a number of prominent Sikhs at his residence on Friday and highlighted the works done by his government for the community.

The meeting came two days before the Punjab Assembly polls, with the BJP going all out to woo the Sikh community as it seeks to put up a strong show in an alliance with former chief minister Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress and the Akali Dal faction headed by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.

Later in tweets, Modi said these Sikh religious and community leaders are at the forefront of popularising Sikh culture and serving society.

He said, "I was humbled by the kind words from the distinguished members of the Sikh community on various efforts of the Central Government. I consider it my honour that the respected Sikh Gurus have taken Seva from me and their blessings have enabled me to work for society."

BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa told PTI that Modi in the interaction said he wants to work for the community everyday and regretted that the previous Congress dispensations lost opportunities to bring Sikhs' holy places like Kartarpur Sahib, which is in Pakistan, into Indian territory.

At a press conference, Sirsa quoted Modi as saying that India could have got the territory after 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan if efforts were made.

Modi has often criticised the Congress for not taking measures to ensure that the Kartarpur Sahib did not fall in Pakistan when India was divided in 1947.