NOT AFRAID OF FIRS
Guess what is the secret of five-time former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s political success? Badal, in his own words, gives credit to “parche” (FIRS) registered against him during his political career spanning seven decades. “Parchean to na ghabraya karo, eh parche hi ne jinha karke mai mukh mantri banya haa (Don’t be scared of FIRS registered against you. It is these FIRS that made me the chief minister),” Badal said at a gathering in Rampura Phul recently while drumming up support for the party. His political bête noire, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, perhaps also believes this. Despite demands from within his party (Congress) and the opposition to book
Badal and some others for police firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in 2015, he has been noncommittal.