Punjab IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu’s entry into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday ran into a controversy after chief minister Bhagwant Mann said the state government has not accepted her resignation.

Sidhu, the daughter-in-law of senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sikandar Singh Maluka, joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and its national general secretary Vinod Tawde in the national capital. She is likely to be fielded by the BJP from Bathinda Lok Sabha seat against three-term sitting lawmaker and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the SAD.

“Parampal Kaur ji’s resignation as IAS officer has not been accepted by the Punjab government…Biba ji (Sidhu) was in such a hurry to become an IAS… but there is some procedure to leave. Please understand the procedure for resigning. Otherwise, your entire earnings may be at risk,” Mann said in a post in Punjabi on X, shortly after the IAS officer joined the BJP.

A 2011-batch IAS officer, Sidhu had put in her papers a few days back and her resignation was sent to chief minister by the chief secretary for his approval. Sidhu, who was posted as managing director of the Punjab State Industrial Corporation, was to retire in October this year.

Union minister Puri in Delhi said her resignation was accepted on Wednesday. It is learnt through sources as well that the Centre’s Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT ), which is the competent authority, accepted her resignation on Wednesday.

As per the DoPT guidelines, an IAS officer, while serving in his/her cadre, is required to submit his/her resignation to the chief secretary, and the central government is the competent authority for accepting the resignation. The state cadre needs to take into consideration outstanding dues and the officer’s vigilance status while forwarding the resignation to the central government. “Resignation tendered by the member of service will be considered by the competent authority i.e. the central government only after obtaining the recommendation of the concerned cadre,” read the guidelines issued by the DoPT.

According to a retired chief secretary, the Centre is not bound to wait for the state’s recommendation to accept any IAS or IPS officers’ resignation.

“As far as the rules are concerned, there is nothing that prevents the Centre to accept VRS request of any IAS even if he or she wants to resign immediately. There have been number of precedences in Punjab when IAS or IPS quit jobs and joined politics within days,” said former top bureaucrat.

Mann said in a statement that Sidhu was in such a hurry to enter politics that her resignation has not even been accepted, but she is “restless” to contest elections.

Mann said it is the chief minister’s decision, and also his duty, when and how the resignation is accepted.

“There are some rules and regulations for this, which we have to follow in every situation. The resignation of any officer is not accepted as soon as it is given. It takes some time,” he said.

Mann said the government is investigating the reasons behind Sidhu’s resignation. “If her motive and objective of resigning are found wrong in the investigation then action will also be taken against her,” said the CM.

“No other party has the vision for the country, the way BJP has. India’s passport is getting stronger day by day because the world is recognising India’s strength under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership,” Sidhu told reporters after joining the BJP.