No ban on Sikhs wearing turban in France: PM

Paris, July 17: There is no ban on Sikhs wearing turban in France, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the Indian media here.

Dr Singh said yesterday that he had discussed the turban issue with French President Nicolas Sarkozy during his luncheon meeting with him on July 14 and was assured that there was no ban on Sikhs wearing the turban in France.

The issue agitated the Akali parties and Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the bodies which influences the political and religious lives of the Sikhs in Punjab, after the French government reportedly prohibited overt display of religious symbols; be it the turban or ‘burka’, by Sikh and Muslim students in French schools.

The Prime Minister said the Indian government had earlier given a ”non-paper” to the French government and suggested ways to resolve the contentious issue affecting the Sikh diaspora in the world.

President Sarkozy assured that there is no ban on Sikhs wearing the turban in France, Dr Singh said in reply to a question at the media conference here after his talks with Pakistan premier Yousaf Raza Gilani.

Earlier, in his opening statement, the Prime Minister, the first Indian head of government who attended the Frances National Day on July 14, said President Sarkozy told him that ”France is ready for full civil nuclear cooperation with India in all areas, and there were no limits to this cooperation.”

—-Agencies