Parkash Singh Badal: 'Man of the masses' who brought lasting changes in Punjab
Chandigarh, April 27: Parkash Singh Badal, former Chief Minister of Punjab, was fondly referred to as the 'Man of the Masses' by his admirers. He was known for his government's popular decisions and schemes that benefitted the people of Punjab.
These included the 'Sangat Darshan' programme, which was started during his tenure from 1997-2002. It was a scheme to help people resolve their grievances at their doorsteps. Badal, along with senior officials, used to personally meet people and listen to their problems.
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Harcharan Bains, who was the political advisor to Badal, said that Sangat Darshan was started to reach out to people and resolve their issues. He said Badal used to hear the problems of the people and try to resolve them on the spot. He was a man who was always concerned about the problems of the people and was very punctual. Bains said that Badal was never known to be bitter to anyone and was always respectful of people.
Badal's government also launched several populist schemes in Punjab. These included free electricity for all farmers, the 'Atta-Dal' scheme which provided foodgrain at subsidised rates and the 'Shagun' scheme, which provided financial assistance for the marriage of women from the Scheduled Caste and backward classes.
Badal also took up projects such as the Virasat-e-Khalsa museum in Anandpur Sahib and the ‘Jang-e-Azadi’ memorial in Jalandhar.
Badal passed away on Tuesday at the age of 95 after being admitted to the Fortis Hospital in Mohali a week ago due to breathing issues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid floral tributes to him at the Shiromani Akali Dal office, where scores of people and political leaders gathered to pay homage to him.
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- With inputs from agencies
