The Punjab Government today organised a state-level Christmas celebration at Dana Mandi, Gurdaspur. Punjab Finance Minister S. Harpal Singh Cheema and Cabinet Minister and Aam Aadmi Party State President Sh. Aman Arora attended the programme as chief guests.
Sharing the joy of the holy festival with the Christian community, they conveyed Christmas greetings to the people of the state on behalf of AAP National Convenor Sh. Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann and AAP Punjab Incharge Sh. Manish Sisodia.
Apostle Dr Ankur Yousaf Narula also attended the programme and extended Christmas greetings to the congregation. Addressing the gathering, Cabinet Minister S. Harpal Singh Cheema said that Lord Jesus Christ showed humanity the path of truth, steadfastness and dedication even in the face of hardships.
He said Christmas gives the message of love, harmony, compassion and forgiveness. He added that the message of peace and humanity given by Lord Jesus Christ would continue to inspire everyone to work for the welfare and service of mankind.
Cabinet Minister and AAP State President Sh. Aman Arora, while conveying Christmas greetings on behalf of the party leadership, said that Lord Jesus Christ preached love, togetherness and brotherhood. He said that fulfilling a long-standing demand of the Christian community, the Punjab Government, with God’s grace, celebrated Christmas at the state level in Gurdaspur this year and the festival would be organised by the state government next year as well.
He said such programmes strengthen social harmony and motivate society towards the spirit of service to humanity. He added that the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ remain relevant in the present times and continue to guide people. AAP Working President and Batala MLA Sh. Amansher Singh Shery Kalsi also extended Christmas greetings and said the Punjab Government celebrated the festival at the state level in Gurdaspur as a mark of respect for all religions.
Advisor to the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board Sh. Deepak Bali said the Punjab Government accords full respect to every religion and, in this spirit, the special Christmas celebration was organised. He greeted the congregation on the auspicious occasion.
Chairman Punjab Minority Commission Sh. Jatinder Masih Gaurav and Chairman Christian Welfare Board Punjab Sh. Daniel Bhatti also greeted everyone on the holy occasion and thanked Apostle Dr Ankur Yousaf Narula and the Punjab Government. They placed various demands related to the Christian community, which Cabinet Ministers S. Harpal Singh Cheema and Sh. Aman Arora assured to address.
Chairman District Planning Committee Gurdaspur Sh. Joban Randhawa and the District President also extended Christmas greetings to the Christian community. On the occasion, an announcement was made to set up Masih Chowks at Gurdaspur, Batala, Dera Baba Nanak, Dhariwal and Fatehgarh Churian.
Earlier, Apostle Dr Ankur Yousaf Narula, through his sermon, conveyed the message of love and brotherhood and said Lord Jesus Christ gave the message of peace and love to the entire universe. He greeted the congregation on Christmas. A cake was cut to mark the joy of Christmas and various personalities were honoured.
Prominent amongst others who were present in the meeting included MLA Dera Baba Nanak Gurdeep Singh Randhawa, Deputy Commissioner Aditya Uppal, Pastor Harpreet Deol, Pastor Sonia Yousaf Narula, Additional Deputy Commissioner (G) Simran Singh Dhillon, SP (D) Davinder Chaudhary, Jeevan Narula, Pastor Pankaj Randhawa, Locus Masih, Pastor Amrit Randhawa, Pastor Sukhpal Singh, Bishop Darbara Singh, Bunty Ajnala, Raman Behl Halqa Incharge Gurdaspur, Advocate Jagroop Singh Sekhwan Halqa Incharge Qadian, Shamsher Singh Halqa Incharge Dinanagar, Balbir Singh Pannu Halqa Incharge Fatehgarh Churian, Chairman Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Chairman Rajiv Sharma, senior leader Neeraj Salhotra, Trustee Sunny Masih, Trustee Jagjit Singh Pinta, Deepak Masih, representatives of various missions, respected pastors and bishops along with a large number of devotees.