New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met a delegation of leading Sikh intellectual voices from across the country at his official residence here.
The meeting witnessed freewheeling interaction by the Prime Minister with the delegation on diverse topics like farmer welfare, youth empowerment, drug free society, National Educational Policy, skilling, employment, technology and Punjab's overall development trajectory.
The Prime Minister, while expressing his happiness at meeting the delegation, said the intellectuals are opinion makers of the society.
Urging the members of the delegation to engage and educate the public and work towards making the citizenry properly informed, he emphasised the importance of the spirit of unity which acts as the central pillar amidst the wide and beautiful diversity of our country.
The Prime Minister talked about the significance of education in mother tongue.
"Efforts are being made to develop professional courses in Indian languages so that higher education in mother tongue becomes reality," the Prime Minister said.
It is learnt that the delegation thanked the Prime Minister for the invitation and said that they had never imagined that the Prime Minister of the country would engage with them in such an informal setting.
They also appreciated the continuous and multiple steps taken by the Prime Minister for the betterment of Sikh community.
The Congress on Thursday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “indulging in self-promotion by way of a film shoot at the Jim Corbett park even minutes after the Pulwama terror attack”.
A non-profit organisation, Khalsa Aid, on Wednesday night received several messages and calls from the Kashmiri students who were ferried to Jammu free of cost.
Sikh non-profit organization Khalsa Aid has sent nearly 300 Kashmiri students from various places back to their home state following fear among them in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 in which 40 CRPF troopers were killed.
On the challenges facing the Election Commission in conducting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, he said the "role of money power" is the biggest challenge to free and fair elections in India.
After withdrawing the most favoured nation (MFN) status and slamming a 200 per cent import duty, India on Thursday decided to stop the flow of its share of water from the three eastern rivers -- the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej -- to Pakistan.
After the deadly Pulwama attack on February 14, these girls allegedly made some adverse and objectionable comments on a Whatsapp group in which other students were also members, the official said.
