Act as ambassador of peace: PM to Haj pilgrims
New
Delhi,
Dec
13:
Pointing
out
that
India
had
150
million
Muslims
and
Islam
was
part
of
the
country's
civilisational
heritage,
Prime
Minister
Manmohan
Singh
today
urged
Haj
pilgrims
to
take
the
message
of
peace,
harmony
and
amity
from
the
country.
''The message of Islam is the message of peace and brotherhood...and each one of you is the ambassador of our country,'' he told a Haj Goodwill Delegation that called on him this morning. ''I congratulate you for undertaking this sacred pilgrimage and my prayer and the prayer of the people of India is that all those pilgrims who will go for the performance of Haj will pray for the peace, amity and prevalence of harmony in our country,'' the Prime Minister said.
He asked members of the Haj delegation to convey the greetings of the people and of his government to the Saudi King Abdullah and other dignitaries there.
''We are very grateful to His Majesty, King Abdullah who it was our privilege to welcome last year on Republic Day. He has always taken a very deep interest in promoting brotherly relations between our two countries,'' he added.
Dr Singh said the the government had done its best to make the arrangements for the convenience of Haj pilgrims, but if there were any deficiencies, they should point it out to be corrected.
''We have Antulay Ji, Ahmed Saheb, Pranab Mukherjee Saheb, they have taken great pains to ensure that our pilgrims are looked after well. But, if there are any deficiencies, you can point that out and the officials on the spot will be available to set matters right,'' he said.
UNI