In a politically significant move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Jalandhar on Sunday. Confirming the visit, Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu said the PM would reach the Ballan Dera at 4 pm after attending the Budget Session in Parliament.
The PM’s visit will coincide with the 649th birth anniversary of Guru Ravidass. These past few years, the PM has been travelling to Seer Govardhan, the birth place of Guru Ravidass in Varanasi, his own constituency. The plan to visit Dera Ballan, one of the most revered places for the Ravidassia community in Punjab, on the day of Ravidass Jayanti, assumes significance as Ravidassias are mostly both Dalits and Sikhs/Hindus, and Dalits account for 34 per cent of Punjab’s population.
Incidentally, the head of Dera Ballan, Sant Niranjan Dass, was awarded the Padma Shri at the Republic Day ceremony this year. The Padma Shri to the Dera head follows a meeting held about two months ago with the Prime Minister in New Delhi. At Sant Niranjan Dass was then accompanied by several BJP leaders like former Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Avinash Chander, state general secretary Tarun Chugh and former Union Minister of State Vijay Sampla. Sant Niranjan Dass heads the religious places in Varanasi as well as in Ballan Dera. Every year on the eve of Ravidass Jayanti, Sant Niranjan Dass takes a special train of nearly 2,000 devotees to Varanasi, which this year will be flagged off on January 29.
BJP leaders said they are expecting a big announcement from the PM on Sunday. It is believed that the PM may also name the airport in Adampur after Guru Ravidass. Since Guru Ravidass's followers have been demanding that elaborate arrangements be made for the 650th Guru Ravidass Jayanti falling next year, the PM may kick-start the year-long celebrations of the Guru’s 650th birth anniversary with his visit.
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