Congress Deputy leader in the lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to clarify whether he was in politics to serve the public or watching his personal and family interests.
Referring to Badal’s oft-repeated claims that he had personal and family relationship with Chautalas in Haryana which he cannot overlook and which made him to oppose the BJP, otherwise his alliance partner in Punjab and at the centre, there, Capt Amarinder remarked, “it is like running with the hare and hunting with the hounds”.
“If you are really so much concerned about your personal and family ties with the Chautalas you should better resign as the Punjab Chief Minister and campaign for them in your personal capacity,” he told Badal in a statement issued here, while pointing out, Badal and Chautala hold hostile stand on some sensitive and contentious issues pending between Punjab and Haryana for a long time.
“That you are there in politics to watch and safeguard your personal family interests more than the public interest is too well known a fact among the Punjabis across the globe”, he told the Chief Minister, adding, “since now you have admitted it yourself, you have no moral right to claim yourself to be the guardian and the representative of the interests of the people of Punjab or that of the panth”.
Capt Amarinder pointed out, it was interesting to note at Jind rally on Thursday, as how Badal shared the dais with the leaders like Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav who were spitting venom against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he (Badal) claims to be a personal friend with access better than the BJP leaders, besides being in alliance with his party both at the centre, where his daughter in law is a minister, and in the state where he depends on the party’s support to stay in power.
“This only reflects his dual character which he (Badal) can mould according to the needs and necessities”, he said about Badal, remarking, “any morally upright leader will never participate in any such programme where your alliance partner is being condemned, criticised and abused”.