The Shiromani Akali Dal has asked President Pratibha Patil to order the immediate dismissal of Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala for publicly criticising Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, the state government and the party itself.
Describing Mr Barnala’s conduct during a recent tour of Punjab as “unbecoming” of his gubernatorial position and contrary to the spirit of the Indian Constitution, Akali Dal secretary and spokesman Daljit Cheema said it was the considered opinion of his party that the TN governor was openly indulging in politics and “using his constitutional office to lobby and re-establish his family in Punjab’s politics.”
He said, “Mr Barnala has not only criticised the working of the state government, rather he has given personal, derogatory and politically motivated statements against Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Apart from this, he has made critical comments on the internal working of the Shiromani Akali Dal as a party.”
The Akali Dal leadership has taken serious exception to Mr Barnala’s recent statements supporting Punjab’s recently deposed finance minister Mr Manpreet Badal and his contrary position with regard to popular subsidies being doled out by the government despite a mounting debt burden.
Both chief minister Badal and his son, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal want to see Manpreet Badal politically isolated following his controversial exit from both the government and the ruling party and expressions of support, particularly from veteran Sikh leaders like governor Barnala are simply not acceptable to them.
Mr Barnala is not just one of the oldest Akali hands but has also served as chief minister of the Congress-supported Akali Dal government following the Rajiv Gandhi-Harchand Singh Longowal Punjab Accord of 1985.
Due to end his current term as governor at Chennai early next year, analysts said, Mr Barnala appears to be looking to politically re-establish himself in Punjab. Besides his own public utterances, his wife and son, Gagandeep Barnala have also supported Manpreet Badal while badmouthing the chief minister and his son.