The government of Punjab issued a notice on May 7, asking IAS officer Parampal Kaur (2011 batch) to resume her duties despite the union government accepting her resignation plea under Section 3 of the All India Service rules. The Punjab government did not refrain from threatening Ms. Kaur with “disciplinary actions,” if she undermined the state order.

According to the Punjab government, it had not waived the three-month notice period required under Rule 16(2) for Ms. Kaur, nor had any decision been made regarding her request for VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme). Despite these, she decided to relinquish her duties as the Managing Director of Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC) on her own, says the notice. Since there is a shortage of IAS officers in the state and after taking note of Ms. Parampal’s active involvement in political activities, which contradicted the grounds for voluntary retirement mentioned in her application, the Punjab government has been grilling her at every opportunity. 

Ms. Kaur had resigned from service by writing to Chief Secretary Mr. Anurag Verma in April and had joined the BJP, subsequently securing a Lok Sabha ticket from the Bathinda constituency. However, Chief Minister Bhahwant Mann was hypercritical of Ms. Kaur’s decision to join politics, stating that her resignation had not been accepted by the Punjab government yet. The Union government then intervened with a letter stating that the Government of India, as the recruitment authority, had indeed accepted her resignation.

Ms. Parampal Kaur is the daughter-in-law of veteran Shiromani Akali Dal leader, Mr. Sikander Singh Maluka, and her spouse is the Akali Dal supremo, Mr. Gurpreet Singh Maluka. She joined the BJP on April 11, six months before her due retirement.