Parkash Singh Badal to turn 89 on December 8, Shiromani Akali Dal set to turn event into celebration

CHANDIGARH: The Grand old man of Indian politics, Parkash Singh Badal turns 89 on December 8, not surprisingly, Shiromani Akali Dal is set to turn the event into a massive celebration at its Moga rally. Oldest Chief Minister of any state in the country is expected to make big bang announcements to garner support for his party.
SAD supremo started his political career in 1947 and played crucial role during the militancy era of 1980's. SAD supremo keeps going and at times addresses 5-7 sangat darshans (public gatherings) in a day.

“Your vote is important. If you give me another chance to serve you, it will add 10 years to my life,” Parkash Singh Badal tells this to a group of villagers near Ludhiana.

Principal opposition party -- Congress in Punjab has alerted the Election Commission, that the celebrations may make huge dent on the state exchequer. Punjab is already reeling under a debt burden of Rs 1 lakh 30000 crore, though it has been able to jack up collections from VAT by five times since the Akalis took over in 2007.

The Punjab Congress Legislature Party leader Charanjit Singh Channi has called for intervention by the Election Commission to stop the birthday bash of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

"The birthday celebrations were being organized under the garb of the ‘Pani Bachao, Punjab Bachao’ to oppose the construction of the Satluj-Yamuna link canal. Going by the earlier announcement, it was only a birthday rally. It was after the Supreme Court verdict on SYL link Canal that it was converted into ‘Pani Bachao’ conference," Mr Channi said.

“We wish Mr Badal lives for many more years. The Congress would have no objection to Mr Badal organizing this day as a mega event at his cost or that of the Akali Dal. However, this is being done at the cost of public exchequer that is highly objectionable. Moreover, it is a political function of the Akali Dal that is being organized at government expenditure. It is precisely for this reason that the Congress demands the intervention by the Election Commission to stop this criminal wastage”, he said.

He said there was another very intriguing aspect in the context of demonitisation going by the video-recording of Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal of a meeting of the party workers that he addressed in Bathinda to mobilise his party workers for this rally.

"The Deputy Chief Minister talked of the elaborate arrangements that had been made at the marriage palaces in the Moga area for the night stay. Arrangements include dinner, breakfast and lunch. Sukhbir advised his party activists in Bathinda to leave in the evening itself and not be late in the morning as their hospitality arrangements have already been taken care of."

"I would like to know not only from Mr Sukhbir Badal but also from the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi, where is all this money coming from?" Channi asks.

SAD supremo was Sarpanch of the village Badal and later Chairman of Block Samiti, Lambi before rising into Punjab politics. He was elected to Punjab Vidhan Sabha in 1957 for the first time.

He was re-elected in 1969, serving as Minister for Community Development, Panchayati Raj, Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries. In 1997 elections he won from Lambi Assembly Constituency and has been a consecutive winner in four terms. He was a union minister in Prime Minister Morarji Desai's government in 1977, serving as Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation.