How can an IAS officer join party? Punjab CM warns of ramifications

Chandigarh: Hours after Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) leader Sikandar Singh Maluka’s daughter-in-law Parampal Sidhu joined BJP in Delhi on Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that her resignation as a bureaucrat has not been accepted by the government.

The official order issued by Department of Personnel and Training would confirm that a bureaucrat is relieved of their duties.

In a post on X, Mann asked her to understand the procedure for acceptance of voluntary retirement.

He also warned Sidhu that joining a political party without her resignation having been accepted could land her in trouble.

Last week, Sidhu, a 2011 batch officer of Punjab cadre, took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). There is speculation that she may get the ticket to contest from the Bathinda parliamentary seat, currently represented by SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, wife of Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal.