Former IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu, 59, has officially joined the BJP along with her husband Gurpreet Singh Maluka, son of senior Akali Dal leader Sikander Singh Maluka.
Who is Parampal Kaur?
Speculations suggest Parampal Kaur might contest from Bathinda against SAD heavyweight and sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
However, her father-in-law, Sikander Singh Maluka, who hasn’t joined BJP, was campaigning for Harsimrat Kaur Badal in Bathinda till April 10.
Maluka had sought a ticket for his son, Gurpreet Singh Maluka, from Rampura Phul and one for himself from Maur.
Former IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu, 59, has officially joined the BJP along with her husband Gurpreet Singh Maluka, son of senior Akali Dal leader Sikander Singh Maluka.
Sidhu, daughter-in-law of Maluka, spoke about their decision, stating, “after looking at the policies of BJP, their work for the welfare of women, me and my husband decided to join BJP. I don’t think the rest of the political parties have any future in Punjab and even in the country.”
Soon after this news broke, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann posted on X “Parmpal Kaur’s resignation as an IAS officer hasn’t yet not accepted by Punjab government. She was so eager to become an IAS earlier. However , there is a way to leave.. Please understand the ways to resign.. Otherwise the earning of the whole life will go waste.”
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Sidhu had sought voluntary retirement from service a week ago but her application is yet to be approved by the Chief Minister , who is in charge of the personnel department.
Who is Parampal Kaur?
Sidhu, a philosophy and zoology postgraduate, became the first woman block development panchayat officer (BDPO) in Punjab in the early 1990s. Despite controversies surrounding her tenure, her move to BJP has raised questions about its impact on Akali Dal’s vote bank.
In 2013, during the SAD-BJP tenure, an attempt was made to induct Parampal Kaur Sidhu as a Punjab Civil Service (PCS) officer through the nomination route, but the file was returned by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC). During that time, she served as an additional project director in the office of the director general of school education, while her father-in-law Sikander Singh Maluka served as the education minister. After a cabinet reshuffle, Maluka was assigned the rural development and panchayat department portfolio, leading to Parampal’s appointment as the district development panchayat officer (DDPO) in Bathinda in 2015.On December 1, 2015, she was promoted to deputy director in the panchayat department, and shortly after, her case was forwarded to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for induction as an IAS officer through the nomination route. Joining as a non-state civil services IAS officer on January 15, 2016, during the SAD-BJP rule, her initial posting was as additional deputy commissioner (general) in Bathinda.Despite joining in January 2016, she was categorized under the 2011 batch of IAS officers due to her prior service length. The appointment of Maluka’s daughter-in-law in the departments he oversaw as a minister drew criticism from the Congress.In April 2016, Parampal found herself in controversy when she declined to renew the arms license of former Congress minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar. This decision led to protests outside the deputy commissioner’s office in Bathinda, with Kangar alleging political vendetta, citing rivalry between him and Maluka as the reason behind the license refusal.
Speculations suggest Parampal Kaur might contest from Bathinda against SAD heavyweight and sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal. However, her father-in-law, Sikander Singh Maluka, who hasn’t joined BJP, was campaigning for Harsimrat Kaur Badal in Bathinda till April 10.
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When reached for comment, his office stated he was suffering from fever. Maluka has a huge following in Rampura Phul, Maur , Bathinda Rural etc qnd it’s feared that if Sidhu contests from Bathinda, she could eat into the votes of Harsimrat Badal.
Maluka, a senior Akali leader
In September 2021, tensions arose within the Akali Dal when Maluka was denied a ticket from the Maur constituency. Instead, he was asked to contest from his original constituency, Rampura Phul, where he had contested five times and won twice. Maluka had sought a ticket for his son, Gurpreet Singh Maluka, from Rampura Phul and one for himself from Maur. First , he declined to contest the election in September 2022. Later, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal managed to resolve the issue, and Maluka contested from Rampura Phul while Jagmeet Singh Brar fought from Maur.
