Why, within 4 days, this ex-ED officer has quit Amritpal’s party

Niranjan Singh, who had in the past often accused the traditional parties in Punjab of inaction on drug smugglers, joined the Akali Dal WPD on September 23 in the presence of party leaders including Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, and Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh.

With an eye on the Panthic votes of the beleaguered Shiromani Akali Dal, the Akali Dal WPD is looking to expand its political base in Punjab and plans to contest all 117 seats in the Assembly polls due early next year. Though yet to be registered as a political party, the outfit, which has often advocated the demand for Khalistan, has already announced several candidates fielding gangster-turned activist Lakhbir Singh Sidhana, alias Lakha Sidhana, from Maur, Mandeep Singh Sidhu, the brother of the late actor Deep Sidhu, from Talwandi Sabo, Papalpreet Singh, a close associate of Amritpal, from Majitha, and Satwant Singh, son of Kehar Singh who was executed for his role in the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, from Bassi Pathana.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Niranjan Singh said that while he would not like to pinpoint any individual as the reason for him leaving the party, “the Constitution of India was supreme” for him.

“Whatever has to be done, it has to be within the limits of the Constitution, which is supreme. That is simply non-negotiable,” he said.

Asked if he left the outfit due to its pro-Khalistan stand, he said: “The conduct of people who communicate publicly on party’s behalf has to be crystal clear. It is not about their top leadership… I still feel they are secular people. It is about the utterances of some of their supporters which is not appropriate. It has to be within the Constitutional values”.

Meanwhile, Ayali, said: “It is his own free will (to leave the party). He only had expressed his wish to join us. He may be under some pressure now. I am not aware of the exact issue. We can’t force anyone to join us. We had no disagreement. He did not discuss it with me before taking the decision to leave.”

Earlier, after joining the outfit, Niranjan Singh had said he was disillusioned with traditional parties and the AAP. “I am not a politician. I won’t contest any election. I have joined the party on four issues: drugs, high-level corruption, law and order, and employment,” he had then said.

Niranjan Singh, who retired in May 2021, had investigated several high-profile drug cases, including the multi-crore Jagdish Bhola drug racket case. During the course of the investigation, he had questioned senior politicians, including former ministers Bikram Singh Majithia and Sarwan Singh Phillaur.