Centre favouring Cong-led states at the cost of Punjab: Badal

Emphasising the need to give full autonomy to the states, the chief minister said that today country needs a federal government structure in accordance with the Constitutional recommendations for the consistent development of all states and every citizen.

"Centre was not performing its duty like a National Government, there were only few Congress-led state governments which were being favoured by the Centre," Badal alleged.

Badal talked in length about his estranged nephew, PPP leader Manpreet Singh Badal.

He said there would be no impact of proposed electoral understanding of Manpreet's Peoples Party of Punjab with the Congress.

"He (Manpreet) and his party are a spent force as he was not able to win a single seat in the state in the recent assembly elections," Badal told reporters after a function organised here at public college.

He said that Congress's state president Amarinder Singh also has no mass base and a "big zero plus big zero" would have no impact on Punjab's politics.

"He (Manpreet) even did not listen to me before deserting Shiromani Akali Dal, we have given him Finance Ministry and he left the party," he said.

Badal was replying to a question that his nephew has been fighting for his survival in the state and has been approaching Congress for it.

"Now every one of his party has left him alone and I have no sympathy for him," he added.

When asked about his possible re-induction in SAD, he said that it was the prerogative of Sukhbir Singh Badal who was the president. MORE