Lahore, Nov 15 : Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee president Sardar Sham Singh surprised many when he touched the feet of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during the latter's visit to Gurdwara Dera Sahib today.
“You are from the place (Patna) where our Guru Govind was born,” Sham Singh told Kumar after his gesture.
He said Patna was as holy as Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion.
“I would show the same respect to an ordinary person from Patna,” Singh said while talking to PTI.
He also presented Kumar a saropa (head scarf).
Earlier, officials of the Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) welcomed Kumar on his arrival at Gurdwara Dera Sahib.
Kumar visited the ‘marris' of Ranjit Singh and Guru Arjun Dev.
He stayed at the gurdwara for 20 minutes and spoke to ETPB chairman Asif Hashmi about the upkeep of Sikh shrines and Hindu temples in Pakistan.
The ETPB is responsible for managing all the shrines of Pakistan's minority communities.
Kumar also visited Badshahi Mosque, the shrine of poet Allama Iqbal and the historic shrine of Ali Hajvari or Data Sahib, the patron saint of Lahore.
He laid floral wreaths at the graves of Ali Hajvari and Allama Iqbal.
