Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday informed that a total of 626 people including 228 Indian citizens have been evacuated from Afghanistan till date. He also pointed out that of them, 77 were Afghan Sikhs.
The number of Indian citizens evacuated does not include those working in the Indian Embassy, Puri added.
Hardeep Puri, along with Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleed haran and BJP leader R.P. Singh, on Tuesday received three Swaroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib brought from Kabul at the Delhi airport. Puri, in a tweet, said, “Blessed to receive & pay obeisance to three holy Swaroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji from Kabul to Delhi a short while ago.
Talking about the three Swaroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib brought from Kabul to Delhi, Puri said, “It was a very emotional and moving experience for me as a Sikh to be able to pay obeisance.”
“During the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020, when the Gurdwara at Kabul was attacked, the Central government facilitated 383 Afghan Sikhs to come to India. During the latest developments in Afghanistan, seven evacuation flights were organised,” he added.
Further, Puri said PM Modi has always lent the Sikh community, home or abroad, a shoulder of support in times of distress. “The sewadars who have come (from Afghanistan) have thanked PM Modi and Mother India that we are able to provide sanctuary and comfort to people in distress, particularly to Hindus and Sikhs,” he added.
Talking about his recent tweet regarding Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Hardeep Singh Puri said, “The same people who were opposing CAA legislation when it was enacted are demanding to adjust the cut-off date today.”
The president of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management committee, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, was also present on the occasion. “I request PM & HM to amend CAA and extend the cut-off date from 2014 to 2021 so that people coming from Afghanistan get benefitted & lead a safe life here and their children are able to study here,” Sirsa later said in a tweet.
Earlier in the day, Sirsa had informed in a tweet that an Air India flight with 78 people including 53 Sikhs and Hindus who are Afghan nationals and three Saroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji would be reaching Delhi from Dushanbe.
The three Sri Guru Granth Sahib will be taken in a procession to Guru Arjan Dev Ji Gurdwara in the New Mahavir Nagar area of Delhi.