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.
In an apparent embarrassment for the ruling Congress in Punjab, its legislator Joginder Pal and his security men allegedly assaulted a youth who questioned him about the work done in the constituency in nearly five years. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media.
The fresh travel advisory says that fully-vaccinated travellers coming from a country with which India has arrangements for mutual acceptance of WHO approved Covid-19 vaccines shall be allowed to leave the airport after producing a negative RT-PCR test report, and will not have to undergo home quarantine and testing.
Four more persons, including a BJP leader who was seen inside the SUV that mowed down protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3, have been arrested.
Referring to the killing on October 15 of a Dalit labourer from Tarn Taran in Punjab, and latest disclosures in the media, the Deputy Chief Minister, who also holds the Home portfolio, promised complete justice, saying the government will reach to the bottom of the case and expose the conspirators behind the incident.
The activists entered the AIIMS premises raising slogans for immediate action against the students who performed the Ramlila skit. They tried to break into the AIIMS hostel, but were stopped by the police who took them outside the AIIMS premises.
Two gold bars, of 3 kg each, of 24 carat purity, and worth Rs 2.96 crore, were concealed in two rechargeable lights. The officials, who searched the baggage of a passenger arriving from Dubai by flight EK 524, found the two emergency lights. On suspicion, they opened the lights and found the bars kept inside the rechargeable batteries.