DNA for DNA: Parampal hits back at Sukhbir, asks him to introspect

A day after she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu hit back at Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday, asking him to get his DNA test done for presiding over the decline of his party.

The former 2011-batch IAS officer was reacting to the SAD president’s comment on Thursday that the DNA test of those joining the BJP should be conducted.

Sidhu, who took voluntary retirement from service to join politics, said she is sure if Sukhbir is asked to state the full form of DNA, he will have no clue about it.

“DNA has nothing to do with the political opinion of any person. I am a newcomer in politics. I have never been part of SAD. It (BJP) is my first party. I do not know why he reacted this way,” she said over the phone.

Sukhbir’s statement had come hours after Sidhu, the daughter-in-law of SAD veteran leader Sikander Singh Maluka, and her husband Gurpreet Singh Maluka joined the BJP in Delhi.

She is likely to be fielded by the BJP from Bathinda Lok Sabha seat against three-term sitting lawmaker and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the SAD.

She said that joining the BJP was her choice because it is a growing and vibrant party with a strong focus on development and public welfare. “My father-in-law tried to convince me to join the SAD, but I opted for the party that would be good for me. That’s my choice,” she said.

Asked about the challenge she faces in Bathinda in the backdrop of farmers’ protests, Sidhu said there is no challenge because people are responding positively to the BJP.

“As for the farmers, we will reach out to them and take up their problems and issues with the government for acceptable solutions,” she said.

On chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s statement raising questions over her decision to join the BJP before her resignation was accepted, Sidhu said that her VRS application was accepted by the central government on April 10. “There will be no loss of earnings as I have been relieved from service. Probably this was not conveyed to him (Mann),” she said.

Rejecting the CM’s allegation of favoritism in her appointment, Sidhu said that there was no favour done and she got into IAS on merit. “There were two posts of IAS and a panel of 10 candidates was sent to UPSC. They interviewed us and I was selected by following the due procedure. If we point a finger at UPSC in this matter, it means we are questioning all the appointments it has made,” she said, pointing out that she had topped the BPDO exam conducted by PPSC in the state in 1995 before she got married.