After preaching 'coalition dharma' to his Akali Dal's ally BJP, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal tried to mend fences with it.
CHANDIGARH: After preaching 'coalition dharma' to his Akali Dal's ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday tried to mend fences with it. He said despite momentary ideological differences, the alliance is ‘eternal’.
Badal made the statement while inaugurating a modern bus terminus, built at a cost of Rs.140 million and named after freedom struggle martyr Bhagat Singh, at Jalandhar city.
"The Shiromani Akali Dal has age-old ties with the BJP and I assure that this sacrosanct relationship would last till my last breath," asserted Badal.
"I cannot make any statement beyond this and want to drop curtains over the scene for ever," the upset chief minister said.
On Tuesday, Badal, normally a very composed politician, preached 'coalition dharma' to the BJP, which went public with differences within the eight-month old alliance government.
The BJP gave vent to its objections to various moves of the Akali Dal-led government. The BJP, for example, objected to continuance of the multi-billion rupee power subsidy to the agriculture sector.
The BJP is upset that the government focus on the rural region can erode its urban vote bank.
BJP's Punjab in-charge Balbir Punj and state BJP president Rajinder Bhandari had criticised the Badal government in recent days, stressing that their party was not getting enough say in government matters.
The BJP has made enough noises to demand the post of deputy chief minister as well in recent months.
Though both parties have been in alliance for several years now - with the BJP willing to play the second fiddle - the present regime is different because the Akali Dal on its own does not have a simple majority in the assembly and is dependent on the BJP to remain in power.
The Akalis have 49 legislators while the BJP has 19 in the 117-member assembly.
Badal tried to dispel any notion that the state's financial condition was in a mess.
"Several ongoing development projects and welfare schemes for the public are testimony to the fact that the economic condition of Punjab is stable," Badal said.
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