A delegation of Sikh leaders met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday and thanked the-Narendra Modi led Government for allocating Rs. 100 crore to celebrate the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.
Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru of Sikhism was born in 1666, making the year 2016 significant for the Sikhs.
While presenting the Budget, Arun Jaitley had announced the allocation of initial sums of Rs 100 crore each for celebrating the Birth Centenary of Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay and 350th Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.
The delegation led by BJP leader R. P. Singh and Sukhpreet Singh Malhotra met Jaitley, and thanked the Union Government for showing respect towards the Sikh religion and culture.
Sukhpreet Singh Malhotra said: "The Sikh community is highly thankful to the Modi-led Government for respecting the religious sentiments."
He said Guru Gobind Singh's contribution in the history of our nation is unique and through this gesture the Modi Government stands tall in its commitment for respecting the religious values of all on the planks of secularism.
Speaking on the occasion R.P. Singh mentioned about the importance of 2016 for every Sikh of the enthusiasm that every Sikh holds for this year and Governments' contribution in this regard reinforces the same.
The Modi-led NDA Government also plans to celebrate the 475th birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap, who was born in May 1540.
Besides, the government would also observe the 200th birth anniversary of Tatya Tope.
The Union finance minister during his Budget speech had also said that in 2017, the country would also celebrate the 70th Anniversary of our Independence.
