CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal Supremo Sukhbir Singh Badal Sunday advised "psychiatric treatment for Captain Amarinder Singh who, he said, appeared again to be haunted with the specter of Akalis trying to finish him off.

'Captain's state of mind is worrying and he is not a normal person at this stage. He definitely needs treatment and I will consider requesting the Chief Minister  Parkash Singh Badal to arrange that at government expense as the "Raja" was once an Akali and is now a former Chief Minister," said Mr. Badal in a statement here.
 

Referring to the nature of Captain mental ailment, Mr. Badal said," He is definitely a man haunted by nightmares and hallucinations. He must be exorcised of these abnormal apparitions which he sees even during day-light," said the SAD chief. He said that it was not a laughing and had to be taken seriously as the once-upon-a-time Chief Minister was seeing enemies both within his party and in the government and even within his family.

He said that Captain's pitiable plight both within the Congress party and in state politics may be responsible for this sorry plight of  his mind, said Mr. Badal, adding, "It is clear even to a school child that the poor Captain is now at the mercy of those second rung leaders within the Congress whom he had once treated as scum of the earth. It is pathetic to see him scampering from one house to another to win support from little known Congressmen whom he used to refuse to meet when he was the Chief Minister. The man who was the most inaccessible person as Chief Minister was now begging each and everyone to shake his hand. I can only sympathise with him," said the SAD chief in a statement here.

Badal said that Amarinder was paying the price of  his five year long tyranny towards the common Punjabis, his 'leisure and pleasure culture', his neglect of the basic needs of Punjabis and his distaste for mixing with the common people.

Referring to Amarinder's 'boast' that he would lead the Congress to victory in all 13 seats in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Badal said that this again was symptomatic of the abnormal state of mind of the former Chief Minister. He seems to have forgotten that even when he had the full backing of the state machinery at his disposal, we had thrashed him soundly, winning 11 out of 13 seat. This time, he said, it would be a complete sweep.  "Besides, it is only due to his mental disequilibrium that the Captain did not even seem to be aware that no one has so far given him the right to lead the Congress party in Punjab despite his desperate efforts. He does not seem to know that he is only heading one of the many committees in the PPCC. His political stature had never been so low. I am amazed that he accepted that petty posting."