Transfer of Kartarpur Gurudwara's management to ETBP exposed true character of Pakistan: Prahlad Patel

New Delhi [India], November 5 : Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel on Thursday condemned Pakistan's move of handing over the management of the Kartarpur Gurudwara to Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETBP) and said the neighbouring country's true character has been exposed.
Speaking to ANI, Patel said Pakistan is neither secular nor does it respect any religion.
"Pak's true character exposed by the move. It's neither secular nor respects any religion. Government of India condemns the move," Patel told ANI.
This comes as the Pakistan government transferred the management and maintenance of the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib away from the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee (PSGPC), a body run by the minority Sikh Community, to the administrative control of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETBP), a non-Sikh body.
Earlier today, India objected to Pakistan's "unilateral decision" to transfer the management and maintenance of the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara to a non-Sikh body, stating that it is highly condemnable and is against the religious sentiments of the Sikh community.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs called upon the Pakistan government to reverse its arbitrary decision to deprive the Sikh minority community the right to manage affairs of the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev.
The move by Pakistan's government comes days ahead of the first anniversary of the inauguration of the historic Kartarpur Corridor on November 9. The 4-km long corridor links Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur in India to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.