JALANDHAR: After facing flak for appointment of former DGP Izhar Alam’s wife, Farzana Alam as general secretary of Istri Akali Dal, the party has dropped her name. Announcing more appointments on Tuesday, Istri Akali Dal president Bibi Jagir Kaur said Farzana has been dropped and Parveen Nusrat has been appointed as vice-president in her place.
Former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) general secretary Kiranjot Kaur, who was also appointed general secretary of Istri Akali Dal, questioned Farzana’s appointment, pointing out serious human rights violation allegations against Izhar Alam. She posted a strong message against Farzana’s appointment and said she did not want to be in the same list. After this, several Sikh netizens criticised Akali Dal.
This quick climbdown is in complete contrast with the earlier approach of the SAD on the Alams. Voices were raised against Alam and the ticket to his wife in the 2012 and 2017 assembly elections but SAD did not bother. Initially, Akali leaders proposed to give the ticket to Izhar Alam, who retired as DGP (Prisons), in the 2012 assembly elections but after facing opposition from Sant Samaj and human rights groups, SAD top brass took the middle path and gave the ticket to his wife. She also remained chief parliamentary secretary during the previous SAD-BJP regime and was again fielded in 2017 but lost the election.
Despite opposition, then Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal appointed Alam as chairman of Punjab Wakf Board. He was later appointed vice-president of Shiromani Akali Dal. A cable from the US embassy in Delhi sent on December 19, 2005, which figured in Wikileaks, reflected that US diplomats in Delhi strongly believed that in Punjab, a personal paramilitary force, “Alam Sena of Black cats” existed during the days of militancy and it staged “encounter killings.”