CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal Saturday resigned from the State Assembly. He is set to announce his new party on Sunday.

Saturday, 26 March 2011
CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal Saturday resigned from the State Assembly. He is set to announce his new party on Sunday.
Manpreet submitted his his four-page resignation letter to Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon wherein he accused the Punjab Chief Minister of ignoring the bitter fact that the state was in heavy debt and that Punjab may get a debt waiver if the state govt. together worked with the Centre.

“The Chief Minister disagreed with me when I showed that Punjab was debt ridden and that we could work together with the Union Government to avail a debt waiver. This led to his decision that I should not continue as Finance Minister. Though it caused me immense sorrow, I respect his authority and superiority. I was blamed for being politically naive.  But I have always felt that the interest of country, state and the public should supersede all personal political interests”, said the expelled minister.

Manpreet expressed grief and accused the Chief Minister of sacrificing the interest of the state for the sake of other interests. He also said that the Chief Minister should act in a wiser way to deal with the situation. He said that he was never wanted by the people of his constituency to resign but considering the present situation of the State and the ideology of the party, he tendered his resignation from the Vidhan Sabha as an MLA of SAD. Manpreet has also resigned from the primary membership of the party.

Manpreet Singh Badal, an MLA from Gidderbaha since 1995, claims to be the only MLA out of 117, who had won elections with an increasing margin each year. Having been expelled in October 2010, from the finance ministry after his statements pertaining to Rs 70,000 crore debt on the state, Manpreet is all set to launch his new party at Khatkar Kalan on Sunday

CHANDIGARH: Former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal who has resigned from his assembly set of Giddeerbaha on Saturday has donated his pending salary and perks to the CM relief fund to be used for the cance patients.

In his resignation letter addressed to Nirmal Singh Kahlon Speaker Punjab Vidhan Sabha. Manpreet Badal has requested the latter to depost his all dues in the CM relief fund.

Manpreet Badal seems to have tried to get full political mileage out of his resignation as he has listed his achievments and journey from MLA to Minister.He said that he wanted to take up the issues of people of the state but efforts were made to harrass him and his supporters during Jago Punjab Yatra.

“My supporters were harassed, my well wishers were intimidated, administrative bottlenecks were deliberately created, but courtesy the faith of my supporters and well wishers, the yatra has got stupendous response everywhere. In Maghi, it was heart rendering to see old men and women walk for seven kilometers to see me when the buses in which they were travelling in were stopped by the state administrative machinery. At Amritsar, young boys and girls had tears in their eyes when I announced the launch of the yatra”, he told the Speaker.

The following is the text of his resignation letter.

Respected Speaker Sahib

Jai Hind

Ever since I became a legislator from Gidderbaha constituency in 1995, I have strived to perform my duty as legislator with utmost devotion. During the past four terms as legislator, I strove to perform my duty with total sincerity, both as a legislator of the ruling party and that of the opposition.

However, when the party to which I am affiliated to expelled me, I felt it was my duty to present the case to people of my constituency. I went to the people of Gidderbaha and told them that they had elected me as a legislator, showering me with love and respect, and it is up to them to tell if I should continue as an MLA. I also told them that while it was their prerogative to elect me as an MLA, it was the prerogative of the Chief Minister to appoint me as Minister.

The Punjab Chief Minister appointed me as Finance Minister in 2007 and I set about doing my duties honestly. My primary responsibility was to save state from bankruptcy that appeared imminent due to profligacies of successive governments. The Chief Minister disagreed with me when I showed that Punjab was debt ridden and that we could work together with the Union Government to avail a debt waiver. This led to his decision that I should not continue as Finance Minister. Though it caused me immense sorrow, I respect his authority and superiority. I was blamed for being politically naive.  But I have always felt that the interest of country, state and the public should supersede all personal political interests.

People of Gidderbaha supported me and asked me to continue as MLA. They assured me that the issues that I sought to raise were relevant and urged me to seek support from people all over the state. I embarked on a state wide tour in the form of Jago Punjab Yatra, presenting my case before the people of Punjab.

This Yatra was launched with the support of a few friends. But as the carvan proceeded, people joined at every step. Today it is a huge movement. People are fed up and frustrated with the existing system based on corruption, nepotism and favouritism. The youth want opportunity, the women want equality, the old want respect – but above all, everyone wants a system that is fair and just, where prosperity and progress are a right and not a reserve of the privileged class.

Every attempt was made to scuttle this initiative. My supporters were harassed, my well wishers were intimidated, administrative bottlenecks were deliberately created, but courtesy the faith of my supporters and well wishers, the yatra has got stupendous response everywhere. In Maghi, it was heart rendering to see old men and women walk for seven kilometers to see me when the buses in which they were travelling in were stopped by the state administrative machinery. At Amritsar, young boys and girls had tears in their eyes when I announced the launch of the yatra.

The response to Jago Yatra has worried leaders with feudalistic and aristocratic attitude who want people to remain ignorant and uneducated. But as the movement has shown, people are clamouring for change. A new awakening is heralding the end of the old and the beginning of the new. Hence repositories of the old are afraid of awakened masses. They are afraid of the Jago Yatra.

Buoyed by the response and pained at the pitiable state of my beloved Punjab and its people, I seek to make a new beginning.  Technically, I can continue as a legislator of the Shiromani Akali Dal and still launch a new party. But that would be inappropriate. A firm break with the past is required to create new links with the future. A future “where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”.

Therefore, I am tendering my resignation as an MLA of the Shiromani Akali Dal as well as from the primary membership of the party.

To people of Gidderbaha, I convey my gratitude for supporting me for four long terms. Unlike others, I will not abandon my people. I shall return under a new platform to seek everyone’s blessings. Had it not been for the spontaneous show at Gidderbaha that day, I would not have embarked on the Amritsar rally. Had it not been for the success of the Amritsar rally, I would not have launched the Jago Punjab Yatra. Had it not been for the masses of support for the Jago Punjab yatra, the crowds at Maghi would not have hit record levels. From that day, I now proceed to Khatkar Kalan, to seek blessings from the soul of one man that not just Punjab and India, but the entire world reveres.

With those blessings, I shall now embark on a new journey. This journey is only for the awakened.

Yours sincerely,

Manpreet Singh Badal

P.S.- Whatever salary and allowances and any benefits that are still due to me as a legislator may kindly be transferred to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for cancer treatment.