Former Punjab minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan dies at 71
One of the tallest panthic leaders in Punjab, Sewa Singh Sekhwan joined the Aam Aadmi Party in August in the presence of party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal
Former Punjab minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan died at his house in Sekhwan village of Gurdaspur district on Wednesday. He was 71.
Sekhwan, who joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in August in the presence of party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal, was unwell for the last six months.
“He breathed his last at around 7pm. He died due to liver rupture. He had been suffering from liver infection for the last six months,” said Sekhwan’s son Jagroop Singh over phone.
The body will be cremated on Thursday.
Sekhwan was one of the tallest panthic leaders in Punjab. He along with former MPs Ranjit Singh Brahmpura and Ratan Singh Ajnala parted ways with the Shiromani Akali Dal and formed a new political party named SAD (Taksali) in December 2018.
The three, who were close to SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, had raised a banner of revolt against party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal. Sekhwan was vocal against the SAD for not delivering justice in the Bargari sacrilege and subsequent firing incidents.
Later, Sekhwan shifted his loyalties from Brahmpura to former minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, who formed another splinter group — SAD (Democratic). Sekhwan wanted Brahmpura and Ajnala to join the SAD (Democratic) to fight for a “common cause to liberate the state from the Badals”.
In May 2021, Brahmpura and Dhindsa merged their groups and formed a new political outfit after the name of SAD (Sanyukt).
Sekhwan, who was apparently not happy with Brahmpura and Dhindsa forming a new group, had been keeping away from the programmes of the SAD (Sanyukt). In August, Kejriwal visited Sekhwan’s residence and inducted him into the party fold.
Sekhwan’s son Jagroop Singh has been active politically in the Qadian constituency of Gurdaspur. Sekhwan, who worked as a teacher for 14 years, entered politics after his father’s death in 1990. He was elected MLA in 1997 from Kahnuwan segment.
He also remained SAD’s core committee member for several years.