An artful politician with strong grassroots connect, Parkash Singh Badal was among Punjab's tallest leaders-PM Modi writes 

New Delhi, April 27, 2023 (ANI): A seasoned political leader who became the youngest chief minister and the oldest of a state in India, Parkash Singh Badal tirelessly worked for Punjab and anchored it through critical times.

He was among the most senior political figures in the country and had cross-party links. Affable and approachable, he drew his strength from his connection with the common man. 

It can be confidently said that Sardar Parkash Singh Badal was among the tallest kisan netas of our times. Agriculture was his real passion. Whenever he spoke on any occasion, his speeches were filled with facts, latest information and a lot of insight.

I got to closely interact with Badal Sahab in the 1990s when I was involved in party work in North India. Badal Sahab’s reputation preceded him — he was a political stalwart who had been Punjab’s youngest Chief Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister and someone who held sway over the hearts of crores of Punjabis across the world. I, on the other hand, was an ordinary karyakarta. Yet, true to his nature, he never let this create a gap between us. He was filled with warmth and kindness. These were traits that remained with him till his last breath. Everyone who interacted closely with Badal Sahab would recall his wit and sense of humour.

In the mid and late 1990s, the political climate in Punjab was very different. The state had seen much turmoil and elections were due in 1997. Our parties (SAD and BJP) went to the people together and Badal Sahab was our leader. His credibility was a key reason that the people blessed us with a resounding win. Not only that, our alliance successfully won the municipal elections in Chandigarh and also the Lok Sabha seat in the city. His persona was such that our alliance went on to serve the state for 15 years between 1997 and 2017!

There is an anecdote I can never forget. After taking oath as CM, Badal Sahab told me that we would go to Amritsar together, where we would halt at night and the next day we would pray and have langar. I was in my room at a guest house but, when he got to know of this, he came there and began to pick up my luggage. I asked him why he was doing this, to which he told me that I would have to come with him to the room meant for the CM and stay there only. I kept telling him that there was no need to do this, but he insisted. Eventually, this is exactly what happened and Badal Sahab stayed in another room. I will always cherish this gesture of his towards a very ordinary karyakarta like me.

Badal Sahab had a very special interest in gaushalas and kept cows of various breeds. During one of our meetings, he told me that he had a desire to breed cows from Gir. I arranged five cows for him and after that, when we would meet, he would talk to me about the cows and also joke that those cows are Gujaratis in every way — they never get angry, agitated or attack anyone, not even when children are playing around. He would also remark that no wonder the Gujaratis are so gentle… after all they drink the milk of the cows of Gir.

An agile and artful politician, Parkash Singh Badal balanced the core Panthic interests with a broader appeal that stretched across communities.

Born on December 8, 1927, in Abul Khurana, near Malout, Parkash Singh Badal was the patron of Shiromani Akali Dal before his death and led it as presidentfrom 1995 to 2008. He graduated from the Forman Christian College in Lahore.

The SAD leader was awarded Padma Vibhushan, the country's second-highest civilian award, in 2015.

Moderate in his views and even-tempered, Parkash Singh Badal served Punjab as Chief Minister five times and was among the state's tallest political leaders.

First elected to the Punjab state assembly in 1957, he was later elected MLA nine times. He became the Chief Minister of Punjab after he was re-elected to the Assembly in 1969.

Parkash Singh Badal created several records including being the youngest sarpanch in India. In 1970, he became the youngest Chief Minister of a state and in 2012, the oldest Chief Minister. 

After 2001, I got to interact with Badal Sahab in a different capacity — we were now Chief Ministers of our respective states.

I was blessed to receive Badal Sahab’s guidance on numerous issues, especially those related to agriculture, including water conservation, animal husbandry and dairy farming. He was also someone who believed in tapping the potential of the diaspora, considering that there are so many hardworking Punjabis settled overseas.

Once he told me that he wanted to understand what Alang Shipyard was about. Then he came there and spent the entire day at Alang Shipyard and understood how recycling took place. Punjab is not a coastal state; so, in a way, there was no direct relevance of a shipyard for him but such was his desire to learn new things that he spent the day there and understood different aspects of the sector.

He was Punjab CM from 1970 to 1971, from 1977 to 1980, from 1997 to 2002, and from 2007 to 2017 (two consecutive terms).

He was a key political leader during the dark days of militancy in Punjab and was among leaders who slowly steered the discourse towards moderation as several factions of Akali Dal came about. He strived for peace in the sensitive border state.

Politically astute, Badal worked for broadening SAD's appeal from a Panthic entity to being a party of all communities in Punjab. He built bridges with the BJP and SAD-BJP alliance and stormed to power in Punjab in the 1997 polls.

Parkash Singh Badal spent many years behind bars during agitations and for the rights of the people of Punjab during the Akali movement.

He was briefly with Congress during the initial period of his political life. He was jailed during the Emergency and fought Congress for most of his political life.On December 11, 2011, Akal Takht bestowed upon him the title of Panth Rattan Fakhr-e-Qaum.

Parkash Singh Badal's son Sukhbir Badal was appointed party chief in 2008. The party suffered its worst electoral performance in the assembly polls last year when Aam Aadmi Party came to power.

 Parkash Singh Badal suffered a shock defeat from the traditional seat of Lambi in the 2022 assembly polls.

SAD was also part of the BJP-led government at the Centre before it withdrew from National Democratic Alliance over the farm laws which were later repealed.

PM Modi lauded Parkash Singh Badal as 'Nelson Mandela of India' at an event in 2015 to mark Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan's birth anniversary for long years he had spent in jail for "political reasons"

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid glowing tributes to the Akali leader saying he was a colossal figure of Indian politics.

The Prime Minister also said he had interacted closely with the SAD leader for many decades and "learned so much from him".

"Extremely saddened by the passing away of Shri Parkash Singh Badal Ji. He was a colossal figure of Indian politics and a remarkable statesman who contributed greatly to our nation. He worked tirelessly for the progress of Punjab and anchored the state through critical times," PM Modi said.

"Shri Parkash Singh Badal's passing away is a personal loss for me. I have interacted closely with him for many decades and learned so much from him. I recall our numerous conversations, in which his wisdom was always clearly seen. Condolences to his family and countless admirers," he added. (ANI)