Chandigarh, Nov 6 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday set the tone for the historic special session of the Assembly to mark the 550th ‘Prakash Parb’ (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev with a call for the protection of nature.
Recalling Guru Nanak’s saying of “Pavan Guru, Pani Pita, Mata Dharat Mahat” (Air is the guru, water the father, and earth the mother), the Chief Minister underlined the intrinsic bond between nature and mankind.
This ideology needs to be preserved in letter and spirit to ensure that the future generations do not suffer from deadly diseases due to environmental pollution, as is evident from the prevailing air pollution which has degraded the quality in the entire northern region, including the national capital, Amarinder Singh said.
Besides Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana, Amarinder Singh and Manohar Lal Khattar, respectively, the Governors of both the states, V.P. Singh Badnore and Satyadeo Narain Arya, were present on the occasion, along with legislators and members of Parliament from both states.
The special Assembly session, chaired by Naidu, was called ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor on Saturday and dispatching the first lot of pilgrims to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan’s Punjab province on the occasion of the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev.
The Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, originally known as Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, is a highly revered Sikh shrine, where Guru Nanak spent 18 years of his life, and is his final resting place.
The Chief Minister in his address to the Assembly appealed to one and all to preserve nature and natural resources, to make Punjab clean, green and pollution free, in line with the Guru’s philosophy, by making optimal use of ground water, diversifying into less water-intensive crops, not burning paddy straw and checking use of chemical fertilizers.
Similar views were presented by Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Punjab Chief Minister also exhorted one and all to follow the timeless message of Guru Nanak to carve out an egalitarian society without social and economic disparities.
Noting that the current generation was blessed to be celebrating the momentous occasion of the 550th ‘Prakash Parb’ during their lifetime, Amarinder Singh called on all to imbibe the values of compassion and love from the first Sikh Guru’s teachings.
The Chief Minister hoped that the bonhomie witnessed on Wednesday between the legislators of Punjab and Haryana present in the House would continue to strengthen the bond between the two states in future, thus enabling the overall development and prosperity of the region.
–IANS
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