SAD removes Sikandar Singh Maluka as disciplinary committee head
Sikandar Singh Maluka , a former minister and once a close confidante of the Badals, fell apart recently after his daughter-in-law Parampal Kaur, resigned as an IAS officer to contest the Lok Sabha elections on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket from Bathinda.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday removed Sikandar Singh Maluka as the party’s disciplinary committee head and appointed party secretary general Balwinder Singh Bhundar in his place.
The party has also appointed two members in the committee – Gulzar Singh Ranike and Maheshinder Singh Grewal. Party spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema made the decision public in a message on social site X.
Maluka, a former minister and once a close confidante of the Badals, fell apart recently after his daughter-in-law Parampal Kaur, resigned as an IAS officer to contest the Lok Sabha elections on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket from Bathinda.
As the head of disciplinary committee, Maluka signed the cancellation of the primary membership of former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur, who in 2022 announced to contest for the post of president in the gurdwara body.
Parampal unsuccessfully contested the June 1 parliamentary election against SAD’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Aam Aadmi Party’s Gurmeet Singh Khudian (AAP) and Congress’ Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu. Harsimrat won the elections.
Earlier in April, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal removed Maluka as the halqa in-charge of Bathinda’s Maur segment, a day after the latter’s son and daughter-in-law joined the BJP. In his place, veteran leader Janmeja Singh Sekhon was given the post.
Maluka had then said that he had tried to stop his son, Gurpreet Singh Maluka, and daughter-in-law from joining the saffron party but in vain.
Interestingly, the Maur constituency which Maluka was the halqa in-charge, SAD got 34,959 votes, coming only next to AAP which got 35,211 votes. The Congress had got 17,751 votes while the BJP ended fourth with 8,278 votes.
The constitution of a new disciplinary committee could lead to disciplinary action against Maluka for not campaigning for the party. Though he never ventured out in the constituency in support of any party (SAD or BJP), he tacitly worked for his daughter-in-law during the poll campaign and sought votes from his supporters.
In a video message posted on social media a few days ahead of the polls, Maluka praised PM Narendra Modi, which has not gone down well with the Akali Dal. Despite several attempts to reach him, Maluka was not available for comments.