Man killed, buried under temple’s ‘havan kund’ in Punjab’s Sangrur, 2 held
CHANDIGARH, October 11: Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh today ridiculed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as “Nelson Mandela of India”. “Who says our Prime Minister does not have a sense of humour?” Capt Amarinder asked in a statement issued here today.
The former Chief Minister said, “either it is a tongue in cheek comment by the Prime Minister and he really did not mean what he said, or he actually does not know what he is saying”. He said, if Mr Modi really meant so, it is an insult to the great stature of Nelson Mandela who singlehanded fought against and defeated the apartheid in South Africa.
Capt Amarinder pointed out, Mr Mandela spent 27 years in jail in isolation and solitary confinement fighting against apartheid, while Mr Badal may not have spent a total of even 27 months in jail and most of the time in luxury and hospitality of the government.
“And most of the jail terms of Mr Badal were voluntary as he would always hide behind the safety and the hospitality of the government guest houses after sparking trouble in Punjab and getting people killed”, he said.
Moreover, he added, Mr Badal has destroyed the entire social and economic fabric of the state as the leader of the Akali Dal and as the Chief Minister of the state. “There can be no greater insult to Mr Mandela than comparing someone, like Mr Badal with him”, he observed.
Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Capt Amarinder remarked, “if Mr Modi seriously means Mr Badal to be the Nelson Mandela of India, then, I am sure, he might be thinking that like Mandela he (Mr Badal) deserves a Bharat Ratna and Nobel Peace Prize also and he should really lobby for him”.
