Parkash Singh Badal accuses ex-CM Surjit Singh Barnala of "ditching" Shiromani Akali Dal

PATIALA: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today accused former Chief Minister of Punjab Surjit Singh Barnala of "ditching" Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) by fielding his grandson on a Congress ticket for Dhuri by-election.

"Probably (Surjeet Singh) Barnala was the only leader, to whom the Akali Dal gave all respect and recognition. But in return he ditched the party by fielding his grandson Simar Partap Singh Barnala as an official candidate on the Congress party's ticket for the Dhuri by-elections," Badal said.

He was here for a programme to observe the 15th death anniversary of veteran Akali leader Jasdev Singh Sandhu.

Barnala's grandson Simar Partap Singh Barnala has filed his nomination on Congress ticket to contest Dhuri by-poll to be held on April 11.

Badal said that Barnala could become Chief Minister, Governor, and Union Cabinet Minister only because he "originally" belonged to SAD.

Meanwhile replying to senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's purported claim that the state was at a revenue surplus of over Rs 2,000 crore in year 2006-07 when he demitted office, Badal said that everything was on the record and no one should make such tall claims without any ground.

He also took a jibe at the senior Congress leader, saying "What is the fun of making such non-sense statements and even I can claim that state is having surplus revenue of Rs 50,000 crore but everyone knows what our government did for the overall development of the state and what Amarinder contributed for its growth".

On the clean chit given by the CBI to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riot case, Badal said the SIT constituted by the NDA government would bring the culprits to the book and ultimately justice would be brought to the victims.