Chandigarh, March 30: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday offered to quit politics if Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal proved his allegation of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) organising ‘bhog’ at the ‘antim ardas’ of his mother Surinder Kaur Badal.
Stating that everyone knew Mrs Badal herself organised chain of langars for devotees and the poor and saying that langar for her own ‘bhog’ came from the SGPC “is both shameful and false”. “The false and baseless allegation is born of a shocking lack of grace,” he said.
Daring the FM to accept the challenge, the former Deputy Chief Minister stated: “I offer to quit politics forever, if he is able to prove his allegation. Otherwise, he should quit politics.”
“Instead of replying to our attack on his Budget, he vent his spleen on his father-like figure Parkash Singh Badal. He forgot that he owes his presence in politics to the former Chief Minister,” he said.
Sukhbir Badal said, “At least, now, the FM should tell farmers and people of the state as to what he intends to do about the promises he made to them. At the same time people should not be surprised to feel betrayed when he had not even spared his own family members.”
The former Deputy Chief Minister said he was shocked at the “level of cheap vulgarity” to which the FM had fallen. “I will never reciprocate his vulgarity… I still respect and will always respect his father and mother as my own parents. I will never utter a word of disrespect for either of them.”
“Surprisingly, Manpreet Badal also received the same upbringing as me. He, in fact, received better schooling than me. Therefore, I simply do not know where this vulgar and lowly streak in his personality come from.”
Sukhbir Badal said he was saddened to see “Manpreet openly declaring that he was proud to play a traitor to the Badal family. He has even threatened to commit worse acts of betrayal to the family. I don’t know how he feels but like any traditional Punjabi, I am ashamed to hear Manpreet talk like that about our family”.
Source Tribune India
