Manpreet envied Sukhbir’s rise: Badal

Manpreet envied Sukhbir’s rise: Badal
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 1
“Manpreet was jealous of Sukhbir’s rise in the party, which is very obvious now,” said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here today. “It hardly matters to me and the party if he, lured by some gains, took the extreme step of snapping ties with the party that kept feeding him with a silver spoon all the time. But his move has created a divide between me and my brother Gurdas Badal, who meant everything to me. It has given me immense pain that I am not able to overcome,” he added.
The CM was here to inspect the facilities at the Giani Zail Singh College of Engineering and Technology, from where the state government is soon going to run a transit campus of the state sports school that will later be shifted to its main campus at Badal’s ancestral village Ghudda in the district.
Replying to media queries about Manpreet’s People’s Party of Punjab (PPP), Badal said it was a motley group of disgruntled elements, anticipating that their original parties would refuse to field them in the coming assembly elections.
“I could have contested from the Gidderbaha Assembly constituency in the by-election way back but in consultation with the party, I fielded Manpreet and even shed my blood and sweat to ensure his victory. But he has now ditched us,” said Badal.
Taking a U-turn from his earlier statement that he would not contest the next Assembly polls, Badal said, “I always give preference to the party’s decision over my own. So, if the party wishes, I am always ready to contest any seat.” The CM refused to comment on Manpreet’s statement that his father Gurdas Badal would contest from Lambi this time. “Whatever happens in the future will be there for all to see,” he said.
Umesh Dewan adds from Tohra (Patiala): CM Parkash Singh Badal has said that in the next Assembly elections, due to be held in early 2012, the SAD will not hesitate to enter into an alliance with political parties, which are against the Congress. He was speaking to media after paying tributes to former SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra during a state-level programme organised to mark Tohra’s seventh death anniversary here today.
Five days after Manpreet Badal floated his political party, Parkash Singh Badal, while venting his anger on Manpreet said, “Contesting on a SAD ticket, Manpreet became MLA four times. He held the prestigious portfolio of Punjab’s Finance Minister. But it is really sad that instead of following the principles and ideology of the party, Manpreet left it for no reason. In my view, Manpreet has stabbed the SAD in the back.”
Reacting to a media query regarding the critical observations in the CAG report, which mentioned that the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) resorted to unplanned power purchase through short-term and measures taken in panic, which resulted in wasteful expenditure amounting to hundreds of crores of rupees, Badal said, “The government was vigilant and purchased additional power to ensure that there was no power shortage during summers.” He added that it was not justified to flay the decisions of the government that were taken in the interests of the people of Punjab.
Earlier, paying homage to Tohra, the CM said Tohra was a man of rare intellect and the SAD-BJP government would strive to cherish the aspirations of Tohra. Former Punjab Minister Harmail Singh Tohra and his wife, Kuldeep Kaur, also paid homage to Tohra.