Former Army chief Gen JJ Singh (retd) resigns from Shiromani Akali Dal

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 12

Former chief of Army Staff and ex-governor Gen JJ Singh (retd) on Wednesday resigned from the Shiromani Akali Dal citing personal reasons.

In a letter to SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, Singh said, “I wish to inform you with a heavy heart that I have resigned from the Shiromani Akali Dal and from the position of president of Shiromani Akali Dal ex-servicemen wing with immediate effect due to personal reasons.”

Singh, a former governor of Arunachal Pradesh, had joined the Akali Dal on the eve of the 2017 Punjab elections and had unsuccessfully contested against Congress veteran Capt Amarinder Singh from Patiala.

The entry to the Akali Dal was Singh’s first political stint. There is no word on whether Singh will continue his political role with some other party but sources close to him indicate he was unhappy with the closed functioning of the Akali Dal and the inaccessibility of its leadership.

Singh is learnt to be keeping his political options “open”.