Manpreet Singh Badal, a former finance minister of Punjab, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party minutes after resigning from the primary membership of the Congress on Wednesday afternoon. Union minister Piyush Goyal felicitated Manpreet soon after he joined the party at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.
The BJP is the fourth party that Manpreet has become a member of in his political career. The nephew of former chief minister and Akali stalwart Parkash Singh Badal, Manpreet served as the finance minister of Punjab both in the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government from 2007-11 and in the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government from 2017-22.
In 2011, Manpreet floated the People’s Party of Punjab after parting ways with the SAD. He contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as a Congress-supported candidate and joined the Congress in 2016. He was elected from Bathinda Urban assembly segment as the Congress MLA but he lost miserably in the 2022 Punjab elections.
Showers praise on Modi’s leadership
“Under Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s leadership, India has made its presence felt globally through our diplomacy. We have Russia with us and the US as well. We have the guts to face China. The future belongs to India under Modi and as a politician from Punjab, I cannot sit idle. We have to think what Punjab can gain from this golden era of our country,” Manpreet said.
About the Congress, the former minister said that the party is at war with itself with each group hell bent on destroying the other.
{{/usCountry}}About the Congress, the former minister said that the party is at war with itself with each group hell bent on destroying the other.
{{/usCountry}}Sour ties with Warring led to exit
Manpreet’s sour relations with Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring is an open secret and he was not comfortable in the Congress ever since Warring started calling the shots as PPCC chief.
In a two-page resignation letter addressed to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on the Bharat Jodo Yatra that concludes its Punjab leg on January 19, Manpreet wrote: “It is with deep sadness that I am writing to officially tender my resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress.”
Manpreet, who was conspicuous by his absence at the Bharat Jodo Yatra, said: “Seven years ago, I merged the People’s Party of Punjab with your party with immense hope, and an expectation of being integrated into an organisation with a rich history that would allow me to serve both the people of Punjab and its interests to the best of my ability. Initial enthusiasm gradually gave way to disappointing disillusionment.”
Blames ‘coterie dictating Delhi’s writ to Punjab’
Taking a shot at the state leadership, he said: “Suffice it to say that the manner in which the Congress party has conducted its affairs and taken decisions, specifically with Punjab, has been disheartening. The coterie of men entrusted with the authority to dictate Delhi’s writ to the Punjab unit of the Congress are far from sound. Instead of striving to reduce internal disagreement in an already divided house, these men acted to further increase factionalism, and almost as a matter of policy strengthened the ‘very worst elements’ within the party.”
Manpreet’s exit comes four months after Captain Amarinder Singh joined the BJP after merging his Punjab Lok Congress with the saffron party. Former Punjab Congress leader Sunil Jakhar also joined the BJP last year. Manpreet is the fifth minister from the previous Congress government in Punjab to join the BJP. Former ministers Balbir Singh Sidhu, Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Raj Kumar Verka and Sundar Sham Arora joined the saffron party in 2022.
Good riddance, says Warring
Warring termed Manpreet’s exit from the Congress “good riddance”.
In a strongly worded post, the Punjab Congress chief tweeted: “@MSBADAL is congenitally power hungry. He joined @INCIndia knowing the party was winning. 5 yrs is a long time for someone like him to stay out of power for reasons not unknown to anyone. Instead of crying martyrdom, he should be apologising to the Congress for betrayal.”
Akalis take jibe at former ally BJP
After the development, Shiromani Akali Dal spokesperson Dr Daljit Singh Cheema took a jibe at the BJP, saying “Keeping in view the rapid joining of Congress leaders in the Punjab BJP unit, I humbly appeal to the BJP high command to reserve at least three Lok Sabha and 23 Vidhan Sabha seats for original BJP leaders who have been working hard for the party for decades.”