PAU to name building after Badal, Capt sees Maya shade

The building will be dedicated to the farmers by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on October 17

Call it sycophancy or a matter of honour for some, but Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has named a building after Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

The building, named S Parkash Singh Badal Bhawan, will be dedicated to the farmers and inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on October 17, as part of Golden Jubilee celebrations of the university.

State Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh, however, slammed the decision saying "this has some shades of Mayawati". "In Punjab, usually buildings, specially public buildings, are named after great leaders who are no longer amid us. This must be the first-of-its-kind example in Punjab," he added.

Ludhiana MP and Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said: "It has never been our culture to comment on individuals. We would like to leave this issue to the conscious of the chief minister so that he can introspect whether this would not set a bad precedent and could be the source of unnecessary embarrassment."

In the past as well, sitting PAU vice-chancellor Dr Sukhdev Singh had named a building after him and even inaugurated it. The building, Sukhdev Singh Bhawan, is now a faculty club. Similarly, the PAU biotechnology building was named after Dr Gurdev Singh Kush — well-known rice breeder — and he was invited by former vice-chancellor Dr M S Kang to inaugurate it.

When contacted, PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon said: "The people of Punjab have elected him as the CM for five times. This shows that the people love him. This is just a way to honour the CM."

Meanwhile, Dr H S Sehgal, Additional Director Communications and International Linkages, said: :This is being done to recognise the services of the chief minister towards agriculture. This building will cater directly to farmers, all activities are related to farmers like exhibitions, availability of farm literature and so on."

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