On Tuesday (7th May), the Punjab Government issued a notice to IAS officer Parampal Kaur, rejecting her resignation and instructing her to resume her duties as soon as possible. The failure of the notice compliance would result in disciplinary action against her, reports mentioned.
This comes days after the Centre accepted the resignation of IAS officer Parampal Kaur following Section 3 of All India Service rules. Kaur joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in April after she gave her resignation to Chief Secretary Anurag Verma. Bhagwant Mann, the chief minister, however, rejected her resignation and chastised her for joining the BJP.
Kaur is the party’s candidate for the Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency. Mann said that her resignation had not been received and openly criticized the decision she made. Then, the Center stepped in and sent a letter claiming that her resignation had been accepted by the Government of India, which was the recruiting body.
The state government’s notice makes it clear that neither her request for VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme) nor the three-month notice period mandated by Rule 16(2) has been granted. The state government says that it has not, as required by law, waived the notice period, even though she has resigned from her position as the Managing Director of PSIDC.
The notification also makes clear that Parampal Kaur had asked for the waiver of the three-month notice period, which is something that the state government may only do if certain requirements are completed and written justification is presented.
The Center meanwhile maintained on accepting Parampal Kaur’s resignation under Rule 3 because of her personal conditions, which included her mother’s health and family limitations, as well as her direct correspondence with the Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training, GOI, which had been incorporated in the letter.
Noting that there was a dearth of IAS officials in the state and that Parampal was actively involved in political activities, which ran counter to the grounds for voluntary retirement stated in her application, the notification by the state stresses that no order had been issued regarding the acceptance of her resignation by the state.
The government’s notification was sent out on the same day that nominations opened and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann conducted a roadshow in Bathinda to support AAP candidate Gurmeet Singh Khuddian. Mann had threatened to discipline her earlier for breaking the resignation rules and regulations.
On April 3, Parampal Kaur, the daughter-in-law of former minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sikandar Singh Maluka, submitted her resignation from her position as Managing Director of Provincial State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC). As per the reports, the Centre had written to the Punjab Government, asking it to accept the VRS of the officer, on April 12.
