After Manpreet Badal joins BJP, Congress says ‘good riddance’, SAD offers suggestion

After the loss in the February 20 Assembly elections, Manpreet had largely remained politically inactive, except for meeting former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu in Patiala Central Jail, around a month ago.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, who has been accompanying Rahul Gandhi on his Bharat Jodo Yatra, took a swipe at Manpreet in a tweet. Ramesh posted on Twitter, “Punjab Congress par se Badal chhant gaye hain (Congress has been rid of clouds (Badals)).”

“A man who left Akali Dal to make his own party and then joined the Congress, was made Finance Minister for 5 years, then lost by a record margin of over 60k and thereafter went into hibernation now joins BJP,” Ramesh wrote without naming Manpreet Badal.

Manpreet’s bête noire and Punjab unit Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring tweeted, “Good riddance. @MSBADAL is congenitally power hungry. He joined INCIndia knowing party was winning. 5 yrs is long time for someone like him to stay out of power for reason not unknown to anyone. Instead of crying martyrdom, he should be apologising to Congress for betrayal.”

In the run-up to February 20 polls, Warring had given a call to defeat all Badals, including Manpreet, who was the Congress nominee from Bathinda.

Meanwhile, SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema took a swipe at the BJP for inducting a large number of Congress leaders into the party. In a tweet, former minister Cheema took a jibe at the saffron party and wrote, “Keeping in view the rapid joining of Congress leaders in the Punjab BJP unit, I humbly appeal to the BJP high command to reserve at least 3 Lok Sabha & 23 Vidhan Sabha seats for original BJP leaders who have been working hard for the party since decades.”

Notably, before the SAD parted ways with the BJP over the now-repealed three farm laws, the alliance partners used to have a seat-sharing arrangement.

On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi had responded to a question during a press conference about the exodus of several Congress leaders into the BJP. “My experience is pretty much, anybody who goes to the BJP, goes there because of a particular type of pressure. It is a hidden pressure you can call it…pressure from the CBI, pressure from the ED, pressure from cases… So, we are happy that these types of people are not with the party anymore,” he had said.

The former AICC chief added he has seen tremendous enthusiasm, extremely dynamic workers, and a mix of senior and young leaders in the party. “So, what I see in the Congress is extremely capable leadership all the way from the top to the worker level”.

Incidentally, the resignation letter shared by Manpreet Badal on his official Twitter handle is dated January 17 (Tuesday).

Among the Congress leaders who have joined the BJP are former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh; former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Sunil Jakhar; former ministers Rana Gurmit Sodhi, Balbir Sidhu, Raj Kumar Verka, Gurpreet Singh Kangar, and Sunder Sham Arora; and former Congress legislators Kewal Dhillon and Amrik Dhillon.