Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) workers who were either martyred or had undergone Confinement in struggle to upheld Democracy or in various other agitations lodged in public interest were the pride of party and the state. Honoring such party workers or their kin during the Sangat Darshan program of Gidderbaha assembly segment here today, the Chief Minister said that he was highly indebted to these workers, who had made countless sacrifices for the cause of the party. He said that the SAD has scripted the golden chapter in the history due to the enormous contribution of these workers and their families, as they had put their sweat and toil to bring the party in power. Mr. Badal said that most of these workers either attained martyrdom or faced rigorous imprisonment during the protest lodged by the SAD to safeguard the democracy when Emergency was clamped in the country. The Chief Minister said that not only this but these workers also played a vanguard role in various other agitations lodged by the party in the larger public interest. Mr. Badal said that the SAD in general and his family in particular could never forget the supreme contribution of these workers towards the party. “Whatever I am today, I owe it to these party workers” he added. Making a scathing attack on the Congress party, the Chief Minister said that due to the ‘misrule’ of the Congress for several decades, the nation was confronting a large number of social maladies like Unemployment, corruption, inflation, poverty, illiteracy, starvation and others. Exhorting the people to give a crushing defeat to the Congress, he said that this was the only way to eradicate the social maladies faced by the country. Mr. Badal said that this was the right opportunity to wipe out the Congress as it was not having any powerful leader to lead them.
The Chief Minister said that the Congress was facing a number of problems which has broken the backbone of the grand old party of the country. Likewise, he said that due to its anti-people stance the Congress party was having no mass base in the country. Mr. Badal said that in dearth of any powerful leadership an inexperienced person like Mr. Rahul Gandhi was at the helms of the affairs in the party due to which the fall of this party was inevitable. “The pitiable condition of the Congress was in the favor of the country and its people because they can easily get rid of it” he added. The Chief Minister further said that active support and cooperation of the public was the basic element for the overall development of the country. He impressed upon the people to exercise their franchise carefully so that only those people were elected in the coming general elections, who had been fighting for their cause. Mr. Badal said that it was writing on wall that the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Mr. Narendra Modi would become the Prime Minister of the country. “When Mr. Modi will become the Prime Minister of the country then an era of unprecedented development will be ushered in the state” he added.
The Chief Minister said that it was on record that the Congress led UPA government has meted out step motherly treatment to the state. However, he said that despite of this the state government has initiated a number of welfare schemes from its meager resources. Mr. Badal said that the schemes like Atta-Dal, free power to farmers, Dr Hargobind Khurana Scholarship and others have given a major relief to the economically weaker sections of the state. Later on interacting with the media persons, the Chief Minister termed the ‘Chai Wala’ remark of senior Congress leader Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyer as unfortunate and unwarranted. He said that in the mad race to target Mr. Modi for scoring brownie points before their bosses, the Congress leaders have forgotten the entire morality in the political arena and this derogatory remark reflects their myopic mindset. Mr. Badal said that the former US President Mr. Abraham Lincoln, who had created the history in world, has also risen from the slums to become the President of United States. “Rather than making such remarks we must respect the great people” he added. The Chief Minister also expressed profound grief and sorrow over the death of people during stampede in Mumbai.
The Chief Minister was accompanied by Lok Sabha MP Mrs. Paramjeet Kaur Gulshan, former Union Minister Mr. Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, Akali leader Ms. Veerpal Kaur Tarmala and his Special Principal Secretary Mr. KJS Cheema.