At Sangat Darshans, the punctual CM mingled with the masses, kept officers on their toes

“If the programme was at 8 am, he would surprise us by reaching the venue at 7.45 am. Punctuality is one thing we vividly remember about him…he was indeed an institution in himself,” recalled Rahul Bhandari, principal resident commissioner, Punjab Bhawan, recalling his association with the five-time CM. “A man with a sharp memory, down to earth, very diplomatic… at the same time, he knew how to snub someone and in what manner. He was really fond of his doodh patti (tea leaves boiled in a glass of milk ) with less sugar in a big glass,” Bhandari reminisced.

Bhandari’s wife Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, principal secretary, parliamentary affairs, agreed. “We are 1997-batch officers and in 2000 we were posted in Muktsar when Badal senior was serving as the CM for his third term. I was the additional deputy commissioner (general) and Rahul was ADC (development). As young officers, we got the opportunity to work with the CM at the beginning of our career and I could see how a CM used to operate from villages, with the masses,” she said. “During Sangat Darshan programmes, we used to have meals at the nearest gurdwara where everyone used to sit together and eat langar. Kaali daal and tinde ki sabzi used to be the favourite of Badal Saab,” she added.

Parkash Singh Badal started the Sangat Darshan programmes in 1997 and they continued over his three terms as CM – 1997-2002, 2007-2012 and 2012-2017. During these programmes, people would come forward with demands for certain projects. A number of them would be cleared on the spot by announcing a fund while the rest would be kept aside for a feasibility study. In the next Sangat Darshan, people would remind the CM of the pending demands.

“At times, several people used to come with personal issues as well as some police cases or issues which local officers were not getting resolved. Hence, the local administration had to stay alert that anything and everything could reach the CM of the state,” recalled an officer who worked with Badal senior.

“I remember there was a Sangat Darshan in the CMC area of Ludhiana city and 9 am was the time but the CM came at 8.45 am when people had just started trickling in. He asked a few people to adjust more chairs for visitors and leave a proper passage for walking. Such a down-to-earth CM…it was a surprise for me,” recalled Ludhiana-based Gurdev Singh.

“He would not even mind saying that he was not aware (of something)…which normally politicians hesitate to do. Once, people questioned why martyr status was not given to Kartar Singh Sarabha in books and why this was not being raised before the Union government. Badal senior simply said, ‘I don’t know but I will find out and tell you.’ Angry people just became speechless after that,” a resident of Sarabha village in Ludhiana district said about the former CM.

“If people are calling him a seasoned politician, it is true. He knew how to build his team, which officer is the best in which area, etc. The names of officers, their postings and the projects assigned to them used to be at his fingertips,” said Rakhee Bhandari. “At times, he used to interact with the officers to ask which variety of wheat was growing in the fields, its maturity period, yield etc as if he was not even aware…just to test the knowledge of the officers and to see how well connected they were with masses, I think.”

S R Kler, a bureaucrat-turned-politician who was a SAD MLA from Jagraon from 2012-2017, said, “My interaction with Badal senior reminds me that he used to say that always make your own line bigger rather than erasing someone else’s.” Kler, a retired PCS officer, joined Akali Dal in December 2011 and is still in the party. “In January 2001, there were Sangat Darshan programmes in the Koomkalan area of Ludhiana. I was the additional deputy commissioner at that time. It was a heavy foggy day and we thought that the CM might be late. But to our surprise, he reached 10 minutes in advance and, in fact, our team was late by 20 minutes. He smiled and said, ‘Take care of it next time’. He knew how to get work done from officers by keeping them in high spirits,” Kler added.

Kuldeep Singh Vaid, bureaucrat turned politician who had resigned from civil services in November 2016 to enter politics recalls,” after resigning, I had to take NoC from the government as I was going to contest assembly elections from a Congress ticket. In the first week of January 2017, I got the NoC after visiting Badal village as elections were in February 2017. Soon after getting NOC, I happened to meet Badal senior, I touched his feet as a mark of respect and he said …may God fulfill all your dreams ..later he even hugged me and even gave the same blessings ..he knew that I will be contesting from his rival political party and still he was so cool…such was the professional attitude of Badal Saab.”

Kuldeep Vaid was a 1992 batch PCS officer who got promoted to an IAS officer in 2007. He won as Congress MLA from the Gill constituency of Ludhiana district in the 2017 assembly polls.