- Jun 1, 2004
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Sonia meets French Sikhs seeking help in turban fight
New Delhi, Nov 9 (UNI) Congress chief Sonia Gandhi today met a group of French Sikhs hit by Paris' ban on conspicuous religious symbols, including turbans, at state school.
The delegation, led by Mr Gurdial Singh, father of one of the three Sikh students expelled from a French school for wearing turbans, sought New Delhi's diplomatic pressure on Paris to exempt the community from the controversial sanctions.
The meeting lasted half-an-hour at Ms Gandhi's residence here and the Congress chief promised all help to France's Sikhs in their struggle against the ban on turbans, an indispensable male Sikh headwear, Delhi Akali leader Paramjeet Singh Sarna said.
Earlier in the day, Mr Gurdial Singh told a news conference that the National Commission for Minorities had rather eroded their support-base by circulating reports in India based on correspondence with the local French Embassy without having reconfirmed them with the French Sikhs.
New Delhi, Nov 9 (UNI) Congress chief Sonia Gandhi today met a group of French Sikhs hit by Paris' ban on conspicuous religious symbols, including turbans, at state school.
The delegation, led by Mr Gurdial Singh, father of one of the three Sikh students expelled from a French school for wearing turbans, sought New Delhi's diplomatic pressure on Paris to exempt the community from the controversial sanctions.
The meeting lasted half-an-hour at Ms Gandhi's residence here and the Congress chief promised all help to France's Sikhs in their struggle against the ban on turbans, an indispensable male Sikh headwear, Delhi Akali leader Paramjeet Singh Sarna said.
Earlier in the day, Mr Gurdial Singh told a news conference that the National Commission for Minorities had rather eroded their support-base by circulating reports in India based on correspondence with the local French Embassy without having reconfirmed them with the French Sikhs.
