MUKTSAR: Parkash Singh Badal, former chief minister and president of ‘the Shiromani Akali Dal, Oct. 16ridiculed the so-called “Operation clean “Up” launched by the Chief Minister, Harcharan Singh Brar, and described it is a tool to befool the people of the state.

While presiding over the meeting of party workers in gurdwara Tambuyy Sahib here, Badal predicted that the Brar government would prove the most inefficient government of all times. He said that if Brar was sincere to clean up the government then he should order an independent inquiry into the corruption during the Beant Singh reign. Badal said that the Chief Minister “had admitted that he had only inducted clean men into his cabinet which meant that others are corrupt and inefficient. He said that if the left ‘out former ministers were corrupt then “the Chief Minister should order a probe into the charges against them. He said it the newly inducted minister was inexperienced and nobody can guarantee on their honesty. He said that the people would come to know about their morality only after 5-6 months. The Akali Dal president said that Brar had revived the feudal culture in the state. He said that he had no intention to remove the immediate grievance of the people. Badal said that the district authorities had spent lavishly during visit of the Chief Minister to Muktsar. He said that school children were made to Stand along the road to greet the Chief Minister by waving the Congress flag.

He said that the police also curtailed the movement of the people in the town unnecessarily.

After the workers’ meeting, Badal told newsmen that the appointment of the Lok Pal was unlikely to expose corruption in high offices, He alleged that the Lok Pal would be used as a shield to cover up misdeeds of the government.

In reply to another question, Badal said that his party had not yet decided to become a member of the National Front government. He said that the Situation was still fluid and a policy decision would be taken only after the announcement of the election schedule. When asked about the election alliance with the Congress Party led by Jagmeet Singh Brar in Punjab, Badal said that his party was not averse to an alliance with any party to defeat the Congress. Badal said that his party would contest the Lok Sabha election on the basis of the issues concerning Punjab. He said that the Congress party was never sincere to solve the Punjab problem. He said that the Central government wasn’t-people and anti-Punjab. He said Brar was a puppet in the hands of the Center and he had to speak the language of his masters. He alleged that the Center was not giving justice to farmers. He said that the Cost of agriculture inputs had increased manifold but the price of the produce has not been enhanced accordingly.

Article extracted from this publication >> October 20, 1995