Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
India

Parkash Singh Badal, 88: India's Oldest Chief Minister Is Active As Ever

Jaideep Sarin IANS, 07 Dec, 2015 01:28 PM
    Parkash Singh Badal, India's oldest chief minister, turns 88 on Tuesday but shows no sign of tiredness or any intention of retiring any time soon.
     
     
    Starting his day early, "Badal Saab", as he is referred to by most people around him, actively goes through his daily routine of meetings with officers, ministers, delegations and others who come to meet him.
     
    Badal's 'Sangat Darshan' (meeting with people) programme takes him to several villages and towns across Punjab every week.
     
    The programme is basically to take the government to the doorstep of the people. Hundreds throng every place where he stops and listens to problems and suggestions.
     
    "Badal Saab is always active despite his age. He is alert too and his memory is far better than most of the much younger people around him. He is a real leader of the masses," a close aide of the chief minister, who accompanies him to most places, told IANS.
     
     
    Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, of which Badal is the chief patron and the strongest leader, depends a lot on the charisma of the leader, especially during trying times.
     
    Badal is also a long-time ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party and enjoys warm personal relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
     
    When he turned 87 years old last year, Badal celebrated his birthday with school students in Gidderbaha town in southwest Punjab. He cut over half a dozen birthday cakes that day.
     
    Starting from a simple agricultural background, Badal forayed into politics by getting elected as 'sarpanch' (village headman) in 1947, the same year when the country got independence.
     
    He was first elected to the Punjab assembly in 1957 on the Congress ticket.
     
    After leaving the Congress soon after, Badal ended up opposing the Congress policies and governments. He and the Akali Dal continue to oppose the Congress.
     
     
    Well-known for his witty one-liners and memory of people and events, Badal has always remained centre stage in Punjab's politics in the past over six decades.
     
    Born December 8, 1927, in an agriculturist family in Abul Khurana village near Malout in southwest Punjab, Badal has been chief minister of Punjab five times - 1970-71, 1977-80, 1997-2002, 2007-12 and 2012 onwards. 
     
    He has been in power in Punjab continuously since March 2007. He briefly remained a union minister in 1977 in the Morarji Desai government.
     
    Badal's wife, Surinder Kaur, died in 2011 from cancer. The Badal couple had two children, son Sukhbir and daughter Preneet.
     
    Badal's close family members are all in the government. 
     
    His son Sukhbir Singh Badal is the Akali Dal president and deputy chief minister and dominates the party and government affairs now.
     
     
    Badal's daughter-in-law Harsimrat Badal is the union minister for food processing. His son-in-law Adaish Pratap Singh Kairon is a cabinet minister in his government as is Harsimrat's younger brother Bikram Singh Majithia.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    No Talks With Pakistan; Welcome A Proactive PM: Sushma Swaraj

    No Talks With Pakistan; Welcome A Proactive PM: Sushma Swaraj
    External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday denied any "flip-flop" in India's policy towards Pakistan and said no talks can be held as long as Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi was walking free.

    No Talks With Pakistan; Welcome A Proactive PM: Sushma Swaraj

    Aruna Shanbaug Rape Accused Sohan Lal Living A 'Normal' Life In A UP Village

    Aruna Shanbaug Rape Accused Sohan Lal Living A 'Normal' Life In A UP Village
    Villagers say they were aghast to know of the crime that Sohan Lal had committed as they found him to be "very normal" and rather well behaved. 

    Aruna Shanbaug Rape Accused Sohan Lal Living A 'Normal' Life In A UP Village

    AAP Youth Wing Protests Ban On IIT-Madras Students Group

    AAP Youth Wing Protests Ban On IIT-Madras Students Group
     The AAP's youth and students wings on Saturday protested in the capital over the alleged banning of a student group at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras for distributing controversial pamphlets.

    AAP Youth Wing Protests Ban On IIT-Madras Students Group

    Indian Cabinet nod for land ordinance's re-promulgation, Rahul attacks Modi

    Indian Cabinet nod for land ordinance's re-promulgation, Rahul attacks Modi
    The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its approval to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015. 

    Indian Cabinet nod for land ordinance's re-promulgation, Rahul attacks Modi

    Why Congress Doesn't Give Manmohan The Credit He Deserves

    The Narendra Modi government's chief economic advisor, Arvind Subramanian, has said that the rate of poverty reduction from 2005-06 to 2011-12 was the fastest in the country's history. The reason, according to him, was "fast GDP growth".

    Why Congress Doesn't Give Manmohan The Credit He Deserves

    Notice To Punjab Over Illegal Buildings Near Golden Temple

    Notice To Punjab Over Illegal Buildings Near Golden Temple
    The court, while issuing notices to the government and the Municipal Corporation of Amritsar, directed them to file reply on July 2.

    Notice To Punjab Over Illegal Buildings Near Golden Temple