Discrepancies in the election affidavit of Sukhpal Singh, a former Congress leader and currently an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Punjab, have come to light.
In 2012, when Sukhpal Singh contested on a Congress ticket from Punjab’s Bholath constituency in Kapurthala, he had shown that his father had passed away by prefixing “Late” before the name of his father, S. Sukjinder Singh, in his election affidavit to the Election Commission. On the contrary, in 2017, when Sukhpal Singh contested on an AAP ticket from the same constituency in Punjab, “Late” wasn’t prefixed before the name of his father in the affidavit filed before the EC. When The Sunday Guardian contacted Sukhpal Singh for a clarification on the issue, he said that it was just a “clerical error”. “This is nothing wrong. It is a clerical error and nothing should be read into this. My father had passed away in 2009.” According to Section 125A of the Representation of People Act, 1951, the non-disclosure of information or providing false information which the candidate knows or has reason to believe to be false; or conceals any information in his nomination paper delivered, is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.
Sukhpal Singh has held key positions in the Punjab Congress unit, but switched to the AAP in 2015. In 2017, he was elected to the Punjab Assembly as MLA.