UN Secretary General Guterres visits Golden Temple

Vartha Bharati | 03-10-2018 | 22:43:00 IST

Amritsar, Oct 3 : United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday visited Amritsar's Golden Temple complex, where the holiest of Sikh shrines Harmandir Sahib is located.

Guterres, the first UN head to have visited the shrine, offered prayers at the holy temple.

"I want to express my deep respect for the religion of the Sikh people and this wonderful Golden Temple, in which the spirit of peace and tolerance is present. I prayed here as a Catholic but, all people, from all religions in the world, can pray in this holy place," Guterres said.

"There are unfortunately not many temples in the world where this is possible, and this makes me feel very happy to be here and very proud to be invited. And, at the same time, it increases my admiration for the Sikh communities everywhere: the Sikh community in India, the Sikh community in my part of the world, in Europe, in North America, everywhere where Sikhs are contributing to the development of our world," he said.

The UN chief, who was accompanied by Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, was taken around the shrine complex and the 'Langar Hall', the largest community kitchen in the world.

Guterres, who sported a white cloth to cover his head, appreciated the work being done at the shrine complex.

"I want to express to my hosts my deep gratitude and wish you all the best - to the wonderful practice that the Golden Temple represents, receiving everybody, sharing with everybody the food, but, more than the food, sharing this wonderful spirit of peace, of harmony, of understanding that we badly need in today's world," he said.

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SC notice to Centre, others on plea concerning MSP

13-04-2026 ¦ 13-04-2026 IST

Supreme Court of India (PTI)

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and others on a plea to accord weightage to states' proposal on the exact cost of cultivation while fixing minimum support price (MSP).

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the Centre and others, including the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, seeking their response on the plea.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, said the plea raises a very important issue related to the farmers in the country.

The plea has sought direction to the authorities to ensure complete procurement of all notified crops under the MSP calculated on the basis of the exact cost of cultivation.

It has also sought direction to take appropriate steps to ensure complete procurement of crops from all farmers who are desirous of selling their crops at the MSP.