The Akali veteran and an iconic politician of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, expired on April 25, 2023. Born on December 8 1927, he was 95 plus.
He was once a Congressman but later became an ardent critic of the grand old party and was always comfortable dealing with BJP leaders either during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-L K Advani duo or many years
later during the tenure of incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
His observation in 2021 on both the BJP and the Congress perhaps best ‘defines’ the differences between two major political stakeholders in India and his objective understanding of the same.
“No one has ever justified the Gujarat riots. No one said after the Gujarat riots that it was like shaking of the earth after the fall of a big tree,” Parkash Singh Badal had said. Late Rajiv Gandhi had remarked after anti-Sikh mayhem in Delhi and parts of North India that the earth could shake after the fall of a big tree.
Parkash Singh Badal did grudge the Congress for such ‘justification’ and thus could never forgive either Rajiv Gandhi or other Congress leaders for “they have always justified the anti-Sikh riots of 1984”.
Parkash Singh Badal lauded PM Modi for his approach to inclusive politics and also governance and went on to compare him with Abraham Lincoln.
“…As for Modi sahib, I compared him to Abraham Lincoln, and I spoke from the core of my heart. There was nothing political about it,” he had said in an interaction.
Parkash Singh Badal had also said it is PM Modi who can fulfil the aspirations of great leaders such as Jayaparakash Narayan. For his part, PM Modi had immense respect for senior Badal, often addressed as ‘Wadde Badal Sahab’. In 2015, PM Modi had hailed Late Parkash Singh Badal and compared them with the illustrious Nelson Mandela, for Parkash Singh Badal was behind bars for a long period under Congress.
Parkash Singh Badal returned the compliment stating, “I don’t believe I can be compared to a great man like Mandela…..Lots of people have referred to me as Nelson Mandela even before, because of the years I spent in jail fighting for democracy, civil liberties and peace and reconciliation in Punjab”.
Parkash Singh Badal was first detained in the Karnal jail in connection with Civil Liberties agitation under the infamous Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency. He was also arrested in 1982 for opposing the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal, meant to share river water with neighbouring Haryana. The project is yet to become a reality due to Punjab’s continuing opposition.
In 1996, Parkash Singh Badal and his party Akali Dal came out quickly in support of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Government. Parkash Singh Badal was a founding member of NDA along with the likes of George Fernandes – then heading the Samata Party. Parkash Singh Badal had a good personal rapport also with the Late BJP leader Madal Lal Khurana besides Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Advani.
The Akali Dal-BJP relationship was later seen as a good example of Hindu-Sikh amity — something Late Badal always cherished.
The Akali Dal-BJP or the Jana Sangh alliance, has been one of the oldest and strongest one in Indian politics. No other coalition weathered so many political battles and rough weather since March 27, 1970, when Parkash Singh Badal could become the country’s youngest Chief Minister.
After Atal Bihari Vajpayee expired, interacting with the late PM’s family members, the Shiromani Akali Dal patron said Punjabis would never forget the generosity shown to the State by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He cited two examples and said during the run-up to the 350th anniversary of the birth of Khalsa, Vajpayee not only asked the State what it wanted but also allocated Rs 100 crore to celebrate the occasion in a befitting manner.
Parkash Singh Badal said similarly when he approached the late PM and sought allocation of a refinery to the State, Atal Bihari Vajpayee took the decision within five days. The centre sanctioned Rs 16,000 crore Bathinda refinery project.
Incumbent PM Modi had surprised Parkash Singh Badal and many others when he touched the veteran leader’s feet in 2019 while filing nominations for the Varanasi parliamentary segment.
“Modi sahib took me by surprise. But as I see it, he sought blessings not from me personally but from Punjabis and Sikhs all over the world…He has my best wishes and the blessings of all Punjabis for what he did for opening the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, punishment to Sajjan Kumar (1984 riots) and other guilty of the 1984 massacre, abolishing the blacklists of Sikhs abroad and release of liberal funds in hundreds of crores for Guru Sahib’s ‘shatabadi’, 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi aptly paid homage in his remarks on Twitter: “Shri Parkash Singh Badal’s passing away is a personal loss for me. I have interacted closely with him for many decades and learnt so much from him. I recall our numerous conversations, in which his wisdom was always clearly seen”.
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