THREE-DAY-LONG PROCESSION BEGINS FROM AKAL TAKHT

 The three-day-long colourful Nagar Kirtan, a Sikh religious procession, began here from the highest Sikh Temporal seat Akal Takht marking the 305th year of compilation of the Guru Granth Sahib.

Earlier, Jatehdar Akal Takht Gyani Gurbachan Singh performed Ardas or prayer as per Sikh rituals in the presence of nearly 50,000 Sikh devotees before the beginning of the procession in the marbled periphery of the Golden Temple. There was a big cavalcade with the Nagar Kirtan when it was passing through the city's streets and was accorded rousing welcome at various places in the city.

Gyani Gurbachan Singh on this occasion said that tenth Singh Guru Gobind Singh had compiled the Guru Granth Sahib after inserting religious discourse scripted by ninth Sikh master Guru Teg Bahdur.

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AKAL TAKHT, PARTIES IN PUNJAB VOICE SUPPORT FOR HAZARE

Akal Takht, the temporal seat of Sikhs, today voiced support to the campaign against corruption launched by Anna Hazare and his team and urged the Prime Minister to give it due consideration.

Support also poured in from political parties in Punjab as ruling Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and People''s Party of Punjab led by his bete noire Manpreet Singh Badal expressed solidarity with Hazare''s campaign for a strong Lokpall Bill. "We support the movement of Hazare and ask the Prime Minister also to do the same," Akal Takht head Gurbachan Singh said.

"If the Prime Minister too supports the movement of Hazare it will further raise his image in the country," he said. Terming the arrest of Hazare as "murder of democracy and democratic values", SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said, "We will not allow Congress to undermine the freedom of the people of the country." SAD activists staged protests in front of offices of Deputy Commissioners for two hours to express solidarity with Hazare.

The estranged nephew of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Manpreet, said, "People''s Party of Punjab fully supports the protest by Hazare.... We too will hold district level demonstrations in support of the Gandhian."

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