Amritsar, February 23: A day after the high-profile visit of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at the Golden Temple, SGPC members today lodged a protest, alleging that they were “ignored” on the occasion.
As per the MEA protocol, only SGPC chief secretary Dr Roop Singh and information officer Jaswinder Jassi were allowed to accompany Trudeau during his hour-long stay at the shrine.SGPC member Kiranjot Kaur, in her Facebook post, said: “What a shame, no SGPC member was allowed to welcome PM Trudeau…Employees took over elected representatives’ role.”
In response, Dr Roop Singh submitted his apology for the “lapse”.Talking to The Tribune, Kiranjot Kaur said it was an important occasion and the SGPC members should have been involved. She claimed that earlier during the visit of dignitaries, all members were involved.
“At least, the SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal should have accompanied Trudeau. But government officials were given importance over SGPC members, which is a bad precedent,” she said.
Echoing similar views, another member Ram Singh said at least the SGPC executive members should have been allowed to welcome Trudeau.
Dr Roop Singh said the dignitaries were welcomed by the SGPC president, while the employees just performed the duties assigned to them. “We had to follow the Centre’s protocol. If there is some bitterness among a few SGPC members, I submit my apology,” he said.
Source Tribune India
