Punjab Congress on Friday accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of “sabotaging” the initiative taken by former Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala to restore peace in the troubled State. “It was because of this that thousands of lives were lost,” said Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa, while addressing a series of public meetings in support of party candidate Simar Partap Singh Barnala.
Bajwa asked, “It were you Badal who opposed the signing of Punjab Accord between the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sant Harchand Singh longowal, that was the first such agreement of its kind ever inked in the country and the same was ratified by the Parliament. You stayed back to sabotage it as you had not been involved in it.” He asserted that later, Badal resorted to his usual politics of opportunism and ratified the accord to get Assembly ticket from Barnala who was the party chief. “In case he was convinced that the Accord was not in the interest of Punjab which was his stand at the time of its signing, he would not have later signed on the dotted line to get the party ticket,” added Bajwa.
Further, he recalled that it was Badal who led the revolt against Barnala that led to split in the Akali Dal legislature Party. "Barnala's only fault was that he was determined to confront secessionist forces which had raised their ugly head in the state at that time. It was Badal who had always stabbed Punjab in the back as his entire politics had been dictated by his vested political interests,” he said. The state party chief said that Badal's only problem for instigating rebellion against Barnala was that he had not been accommodated in the cabinet despite making every effort. "Badal owe an explanation to the people as to why he kept himself away for nine years from the death anniversary function of Sant longowal who sacrificed his life for the unity and integrity of the country and this has been admitted by the Akali Dal later in writing," Bajwa said.
He said that it was his "lust for power" that forced him to start attending the anniversary functions of Sant longowal who commanded a huge following in his native land. Describing Badal as the "most cunning politician in the Akali Dal in the recent history who is not committed to any cause and has been shifting his ideological stand depending upon the situation and his personal interests", Bajwa said that Badal had now been thoroughly exposed especially after the NDA Government come into power at the Centre. "It was only now that he has realised the meaning of discrimination by the Centre but he is no more in a position to say a single word against it as the future of his daughter-in-law and the Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Badal would be at stake," said Bajwa.
Public holiday on April 11 in Sangrur
Punjab Government on Friday announced public holiday in all government offices, corporations, Boards and Educational institutes located in Sangrur district on April 11, 2015, to facilitate the employees to exercise their right of franchise in bye-elections in Dhuri Assembly constituency. Spokesperson said that other employees, who are voters of these assembly constituencies but were posted in some other area, could also avail the facility of this public holiday by showing their voter identity cards to the competent authority. He clarified that this holiday would not be deducted from their sanctioned holidays account.
‘Badal trying to blackmail Dhuri voters’
Senior Congress leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal on Friday alleged that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was trying to "blackmail" people in Dhuri by saying that in case they wanted development, they should vote for Akali Dal candidate Gobind Singh longowal. "Badal is not the Chief Minister of Akalis only but of the entire State and as such, this style of campaigning amounts to blackmail and is indirectly coercive in nature that is against the norms of democratic functioning," pointed the former chief minister.
She said: "A Chief Minister cannot discriminate with a region just because the people there did not vote for the ruling party. This reflected vindictiveness and the people should give a befitting reply to such tactics." Bhattal, while addressing a series of public meetings in favour of party candidate Simar Partap Singh Barnala, said that Badal continued to ignore this constituency all these years but started disbursing money under his sangat darshan programmes once the seat was declared vacant after the resignation by Arvind Khanna.