Badal brothers refrain from attacking each other at rallies

Badal brothers refrain from attacking each other at rallies 

Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Lambi, April 3
They two brothers have different political affiliations but, at heart, they have strong feelings for familial ties.

And this is evident from their speeches during public rallies. They have not indulged in petty politics of mudslinging, pointing that their bonhomie is still intact even after contesting the assembly elections in 2012 against each other.

Though the estranged Badal brothers — Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his younger brother Gurdas Badal — are regularly campaigning to secure victory for their next generation,

This time, the Chief Minister’s daughter-in-law, sitting Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and Gurdas’ son, PPP chief Manpreet Singh Badal, are in the fray from Bathinda. Badal brothers avoid even of naming each other during public rallies.

While Badal accuses Manpreet of stabbing the SAD in the back, Gurdas urges public to vote for change and bring reform by electing his son. Badal brothers are unlike their next generation who rarely miss a chance to accuse each other on any public platform.

When this correspondent asked the reason for not naming Gurdas in his speeches, Badal said, “I do not even want to mention the name of Manpreet, but some facts are necessary to be made public.”

He further said that they (both brothers) still had cordial relations, but circumstances separated them. It is an open secret that they often met before the announcement of elections.

When asked about his affection towards his elder brother, Gurdas gets a bit emotional. “Badal Saheb is more than my elder brother. We had a good time together. Every time he went abroad, he made it a point to bring some thing for me. I looked after his constituency in his absence. The circumstances changed and we had no other option but to separate.”

The locals say the Badal brothers are like Ram-Laxman as they were known as “Pash te Dass di jodi”. Badal villagers say whoever wins, they would get a Badal as their MP who would definitely develop the area, as both are educated.