Chandigarh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid a richly written tribute to five-time Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and recalled his special relationship with the stalwart of Punjab politics.
The 95-year-old Akali leader Badal died on Wednesday evening at a private hospital in Mohali. The Prime Minister reached Chandigarh on Thursday morning to condole Badal’s death, meet his family and pay respects to his mortal remains at the Shiromani Akali Dal office.
In an article published on the op-ed page of The Tribune A leading regional daily of Punjab – Modi said that with Badal’s demise, he has lost a father figure who had guided him for decades.
Modi wrote, “In more ways than one, he shaped the politics of India and Punjab, and can best be described as unique.” “that cloud Sir He was a great leader who is widely accepted. But more importantly, he was a man with a big heart. It is easy to be a great leader but it takes a lot more to be a person with a big heart. People across Punjab say – there was something different in Badal Sir, ,Mr. Badal was different,
Recalling the personal equation he shared with Badal, Modi wrote that he got to know the leader in the 90s, when he Involved in party work in North India.
“Cloud SirHis reputation stood before him – he was a political stalwart who was the youngest Chief Minister of Punjab, a Union cabinet minister and a man who ruled the hearts of millions of Punjabis around the world. I, on the other hand, was a simple activist, Yet, true to his nature, he never allowed this to become a difference between us,” he wrote.
Discussing Badal’s emphasis on an alliance with the BJP to ensure peace and communal harmony in Punjab, Modi wrote that in the mid and late 1990s, the political climate was different in the state, which had seen years of insurgency.
Referring to the 1997 assembly elections, he wrote, “Our parties (SAD and BJP) went together to the people and Badal Sir He was our leader. His credibility was one of the major reasons why people blessed us with a resounding victory. Not only this, our alliance also successfully won the municipal elections in Chandigarh and the Lok Sabha seat in the city. Such was his personality that our alliance continued to serve the state for 15 years between 1997 and 2017.
After forging an alliance with the Jana Sangh – the predecessor of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – for the first time in 1967, Badal’s SAD joined hands with the BJP and the NDA in a pre-poll alliance ahead of the 1997 assembly elections. Though it had its share of ups and downs, the alliance survived till 2020, when the Akalis broke down over differences over the now-repealed farm laws of the Modi government.
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one of the highest Farmer leader’, had ‘love for cows’
Recalling an incident after the historic victory of the Akali-BJP alliance in Punjab in 1997, Modi recalled the time They went to Amritsar together.
“I was in my room in a guest house, but when he came to know about it, he came there and started taking my belongings. I asked him why he was doing this, he told me that I would have to come with him to the CM’s room and stay there. I kept telling him that there was no need to do so, but he insisted. Eventually, that’s exactly what happened and the cloud Sir Stayed in another room. I will always cherish this gesture of his towards a very ordinary person. activist Like me.”
calling the clouds in the highest Farmer Leader of Our Times, he wrote that agriculture was “his real passion”.
He wrote, “Whenever he spoke on any occasion, his speeches were packed with facts, latest information and lots of insight.” Bara had a special interest cow shelters Also kept cows of different breeds.
‘Punjab First and India First’
The Prime Minister said that after 2001, he had the opportunity to interact with the Badals in a different capacity – as chief ministers of their respective states.
I’m blessed to have a cloud SirGuidance on a range of issues, particularly related to agriculture, including water conservation, animal husbandry and dairy farming. He was also someone who believed in harnessing the potential of the Indian diaspora, given that there are a lot of hardworking Punjabis settled abroad,” Modi wrote.
Modi said after his National Democratic Alliance government came to power at the Center in 2014, Badal provided valuable insights based on his experience in governance.
“On a larger scale, his contribution to our nation is immeasurable,” he wrote. He was one of the bravest soldiers for the restoration of democracy during the dark days of Emergency. When their governments were dismissed, they themselves bore the brunt of the domineering culture of the Congress. And, these experiences have further strengthened his faith in democracy.”
During the turbulent period of the 1970s and 1980s, Badal put “Punjab first” and “India first” and Modi strongly opposed any plan to weaken India or compromise the interests of the people of Punjab, “even if it meant loss of power”, wrote Modi.
He wrote, Badal was a man who brought people together and Can work with leaders of all ideologies, and the void left by his death will be difficult to fill.
He never linked any relationship with political gains or losses. It was especially useful in furthering the spirit of national unity,” he wrote.Here was a politician whose life saw many challenges but he overcame them and rose like a phoenix. He will be missed but he will live on in our hearts and through the excellent work he has done over the decades.”
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)