Parampal Kaur Sidhu, a 2011 batch IAS officer who recently resigned, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday. However, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said Ms. Sidhu’s resignation has not yet been accepted by the government.
Ms. Sidhu, the daughter-in-law of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) senior leader Sikandar Singh Maluka, is expected to be fielded from the Bathinda parliamentary constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Bathinda is currently represented by SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the wife of former Deputy Chief Minister and Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Ms. Sidhu and her husband Gurpreet Singh Maluka joined the BJP in New Delhi, in the presence of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
Ms. Sidhu was posted as Managing Director of the Punjab State Industrial Corporation when she resigned from the service last week.
After she joined the BJP, the Chief Minister said her resignation had not been accepted so far. “Parampal Kaur ji’s resignation as IAS officer has not been accepted by Punjab Government. Biba ji (Ms. Sidhu) was in such a hurry to become IAS earlier... but there’ s a way to quit. Please understand the way to resign, otherwise your lifelong earnings may be at risk,” Mr. Mann said in post on social media platform X.
However, sources said Ms. Kaur’s request for voluntary retirement has been accepted by the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India.
