Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has invited his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar to participate in the state-level Hola Mohalla celebrations to mark the beginning of the Sikh New Year in 2018.The invitation was issued when Captain Amarinder called on Nitish here on Friday, during a visit to Takht Sri Patna Sahib, to pay his respects on the occasion of the 350th birth anniversary of the 10th Sikh Guru.During a brief meeting, which a spokesperson described as a courtesy call, Captain Amarinder informed the Bihar Chief Minister that he had decided to send a team from Panjabi University, Patiala, where a Chair has been established in the name of Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji, to the Dashmesh Pita’s birthplace in Patna for research.
Captain Amarinder also congratulated Nitish on the excellent arrangements made for the lakhs of devotees, converging at Sri Patna Sahib from around the world. He had personally seen the arrangements, which he found to be extremely impressive, said the Punjab Chief Minister.Captain Amarinder apprised the Bihar Chief Minister about the arrangements made by his government to mark the historic occasion. Besides organising a series of special programmes, culminating in a mega event at Sri Anandpur Sahib on December 24, the Punjab government has also arranged for three special trains to ferry pilgrims from Patiala, Amritsar and Bathinda to Patna, he said, adding that the trains were flagged off this morning and would leave on the return journey to Punjab on December 26.This was the second meeting this year between Captain Amarinder and Nitish. The Bihar Chief Minister had hosted Captain Amarinder for lunch at his residence when, as Punjab Congress president, the latter had visited Sri Patna Sahib in January this year.
Amarinder Singh, Nitish Kumar