True to his promise of offering Punjabis a new alternative, former finance minister Manpreet Badal launched the Peoples’ Party of Punjab at a massive political rally in the ancestral village of his posthumous mentor — Shaheed Bhagat Singh — on Sunday.
Mr Badal who rather unceremoniously exited the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal over differences with his uncle, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and older first cousin, deputy CM Sukhbir Badal last October, also resigned his seat in the legislature on Saturday to pave the path to floating a new political outfit. An evident takeoff on the acronym commonly employed for Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s Peoples’ Party of Pakistan, Manpreet Badal’s homegrown version of the PPP professes “zero tolerance” for corruption. Addressing his enthusiastic swarm of supporters, the rebel Akali who had once proudly declared that his “soul would always remain Akali,” said the PPP’s constitution precludes corruption, nepotism and dynastic politics. “No party member will be eligible to hold a position of office as a minister past the age of 70 years. Similarly, no more than one blood relative will be a minister, speaker or parliamentary secretary at a given time,” he said .
Manpreet Badal said, “my vision for Punjab is not that of a state where roads and minds are so narrow that you have deferentially make way for cavalcades and cacophony of red beaconed VIPs. I dream of a Punjab where we all walk together, hand in hand, and shoulder to shoulder.”
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‘Black money flowing into campaign’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi
March 27: The BJP on Sunday attacked the Congress and its alliance partners of using black money to fund election campaigns in the five states going to poll next month. The party alleged that corruption is the “common minimum programme” and “loot” is the agenda of Congress and its allies. Senior BJP leader and national vice-president, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who is also party’s incharge of campaign and programme, said “these parties are converting corruption currency into campaign currency and the Election Commission should take appropriate action against them.” Assembly polls are scheduled in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry next month. Citing example of a Trinmul Congress MP, who was detained carrying lakhs of rupees, Mr Naqvi alleged that “black money is flowing like water” into the campaign by the Congress and its allies.