Sharanjit Dhillon demands AIIMS to be named after CM Badal

Chandigarh, Punjab Irrigation Minister Mr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon has congratulated Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal who was conferred with India’s second highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan, by President Mr Pranab Mukherjee at a grand ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Delhi yesterday. Mr Dhillon has demanded from the union government that the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) which is to come up in the state should be named after Mr Parkash Singh Badal.

Mr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon said that the Padma Vibhushan Award is a true recognition of man of masses who is currently the Chief Minister of Punjab for the fifth time. He said that Mr Parkash Singh Badal is one of India’s senior-most politicians and patriarch of the Shiromani Akali Dal. He said that in his more than six-decade long career, Mr Badal has been a witness to many highs and lows of Indian politics and has weathered some of the heaviest storms in the country’s history.

Mr Parkash Singh Badal has been the Chief Minister of Punjab for fourterms previously – from 1969-71, 1977-80, 1997-2002, 2007-2012 and is currently the Chief Minister of the state for the fifth term.

Mr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon said that few in this country can claim to have remained in the forefront of public life for almost the entire period of the post-Independence India as he has been, making him the grand patriarch on the Indian political scene. “Starting off as a young sarpanch of his village and being elected to the Punjab assembly for the first time in 1957, he has been a strong votary of farmers’ rights and stood up for them on a number of occasions,” said. Mr Dhillon.

Punjab Irrigation Minister Mr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon said that naming AIIMS as “Sardar Parkash Singh Badal All India Institute of Medical Sciences” would be a true recognition to the great leader who has always stood firm for the rights of Punjabis and has been a role model of national integration. Mr Dhillon said that very soon, they would write a formal letter to the union government regarding the same.