Chandigarh: The entry of former Enforcement Directorate deputy director Niranjan Singh and former Punjab Police DSP Balwinder Singh Sekhon into Akali Dal Waris Punjab De on Wednesday has thrown up a striking paradox for a party seeking to make law and order and the eradication of drugs major planks of its campaign for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
Niranjan Singh, who handled the Jagdish Bhola drug case during his ED tenure, joined the party at the Chandigarh Press Club along with Sekhon. Party leaders including MP Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali and Tarsem Singh, father of jailed MP Amritpal Singh, were present at the induction. Singh had earlier said that he considered Waris Punjab De serious about tackling the drug problem in Punjab.
But his entry immediately raises questions over the party’s law and order narrative, particularly because of its association with Pro Khalistani Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged in Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act, Now NSA has been removed.
Asked by The Daily Guardian how Waris Punjab De would improve Punjab’s law and order situation if it came to power when Amritpal himself had been accused in the Ajnala police station attack, Singh said anybody who breaks the law would have to face the due course of law.
The Ajnala case is not merely a political allegation. In May this year, a sessions court framed charges against Amritpal in the February 2023 incident, including attempt to murder, causing grievous injuries, obstructing public servants, criminal conspiracy, damaging government property and issuing death threats while leading an unlawful assembly. The court, however, dropped charges under the Arms Act after the defence argued that no weapon had been recovered from Amritpal.
This led to another question. Was Singh opposed to the National Security Act?
His answer was unequivocal: “I am not against NSA.” He also said he had never stated that Amritpal should never be sent to jail under the NSA.
Asked why he had then joined a party led by the father of a person facing such cases, Singh said Amritpal’s father had not broken the law and that Amritpal was in jail while the law was taking its course.
The second paradox concerns drugs. Waris Punjab De is seeking to project itself as a political force that can eliminate drugs from Punjab. Yet Amritpal’s brother Harpreet Singh was arrested by Jalandhar Rural Police in July 2024 after police alleged recovery of methamphetamine from him. The family had described the case as a conspiracy. The allegation remains a matter of legal proceedings and should not be described as proof that Harpreet Singh is a drug addict.
When asked how the party would eradicate drugs from Punjab when Amritpal’s own family had faced a drug case, Singh again referred to the law taking its course and did not directly answer how the party would address the contradiction.
The party’s law and order credentials also face scrutiny over Amritpal’s earlier activities. During the 2023 crackdown, Punjab Police alleged that he had established a temporary firing range at Jallupur Khera and that members of the proposed Anandpur Khalsa Fauj were being trained in handling firearms. Police also said videos showing weapon training had been recovered from an associate. These were police allegations made during the investigation.
Singh himself also faced questions over his past. During the Bhola drug investigation, he questioned former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia and his transfer to Kolkata became controversial. The ED later cancelled the transfer after the matter reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Asked why he had alleged that the investigation was compromised when subsequent officers could have reached a different conclusion, Singh said those officers would have to answer. When asked why he blamed the system without knowing what those officers had found, he did not answer further and ended the interview.
He was also questioned about the departmental controversy involving Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh, who performed at his daughter’s wedding for Rs 2 lakh while Singh had earlier handled a FEMA matter involving the singer. Singh rejected any conflict of interest, saying the two matters had no connection. The ED departmental chargesheet had alleged that the payment raised questions about integrity and conduct.
Thus, Niranjan Singh’s first day in Waris Punjab De brings the party face to face with its central paradox: a former ED officer who says he is not against the NSA has joined a political organisation whose most prominent leader remains detained under it, while the same party seeks votes on law and order and the eradication of drugs.
