Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa is an Indian agriculturist and politician from the Indian National Congress. He is famous for being the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab from Congress which was led by the Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
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Wiki/Biography
According to some sources, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa was born on 1 February 1959 (Sunday) , and per some other sources, he was born on 25 April 1959 (Saturday) (age 62 years; as of 2021) in Village Dharowali, Tehsil Dera Baba Nanak, District Gurdaspur, Punjab. As per the sources, his zodiac sign is either Aquarius or Taurus. He did his schooling at Government School, Chandigarh and passed out his class 10 in 1975. Later, he pursued graduation at Goswami Ganesh Dutta Sanatan Dharma College (SD College), Punjab University, Chandigarh.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Hair Colour: Salt & Pepper
Eye Colour: Brown
Family
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa belongs to a Sikh family.
Parents & Siblings
His father, Late Santokh Singh Randhawa, was elected as the Punjab Congress chief two times during his tenure with Congress. His mother’s name is Manjit Kaur. His elder brother, Inderjit Singh Randhawa, is a politician from Shiromani Akali Dal.
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa’s Facebook post for his father
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and his elder brother, Inderjit Singh Randhawa
Wife & Children
Sukhjinder got married to Jatinder Kaur Randhawa on 15 June. The couple has three children together; one son and two daughters. His son, Udhayveer Randhawa, is a politician too. His daughters, Simrat Kaur and Divyjot Randhawa are married.
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa with his wife and son
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa’s daughters
Caste
He belongs to a Jat Sikh community.
Address
R/O Dharauali Hadbest no-0420, Teh Dera Baba Narak, Punjab
Career
Sukhjinder was brought up in a political environment as his father was a renowned Congress leader from Punjab. In his teens, he developed an interest in politics, and while he was in college, he joined the Indian Youth Congress party. His first victory was in 2002 when he contested for the MLA seat from Fatehgarh Churian, Gurdaspur, Punjab. He contested again for the same seat in 2007 but failed to mark his victory. He then contested for the MLA seat from Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur, Punjab and won in 2012. He organised a campaign in 2015 to make Captain Amarinder Singh the President of Punjab Congress by replacing the then President of Punjab Congress, Pratap Bajwa.
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa with Captain Amarinder Singh
As a mark of disagreement and protest, Sukhjinder, along with 42 other MLAs from Congress submitted their resignation in 2016. They were against the decision of the Supreme Court of India on the issue of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) water canal. Supreme Court of India’s take on the issue was,
Punjab does not have any right to unilaterally terminate water-sharing agreements with neighbouring states.”
Sukhjinder then contested for the MLA seat in 2017 from Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur, Punjab and won the seat for the second time. Sukhjinder was opposed by his elder brother, Inderjit Singh Randhawa in the 2017 elections. Later, after the defeat in the elections, Inderjit Singh Randhawa and his son Deepinder Singh Randhawa joined The Shiromani Akali Dal and left Congress. In the same year, in Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government, he was appointed as the Cabinet Minister of Cooperation and Jails, Government of Punjab. In August 2017, Sukhjinder and 32 other Congress MLAs wrote a letter to the then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh in which they asked an inquiry against the Shiromani Akali Dal minister, Bikram Singh Majithia in a drug trafficking case. Due to the lack of strict actions against the Akalis, differences started arising between Captain Amarinder Singh and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. Sukhjinder is popular for being one of the leaders of the Congress ‘Majha Brigade’ from Punjab including Tript Rajinder Bajwa and Sukhwinder Singh Sukh as the other two members.
The Majha Brigade
On 17 June 2021, his plea for providing special security by the central government was rejected by the Union Home Ministry. The concerned ministry said that there was no threat to his life, so he did not require any special security. After the sudden resignation of the former Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh in 2021, Sukhjinder’s was one of the first names for the seat of CM.
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa in a church
Later, the Congress party finalised Charanjit Singh Channi’s name for the CM. Om Prakash Soni and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa were appointed as the Deputy Chief Ministers of Punjab. The oath ceremony took place on 20 September 2021 at the Raj Bhawan, Chandigarh.
Some of the other positions he has served in his tenure are:
Vice-President, Punjab Youth Congress
General Secretary PPCC
President at Primary Agro Service Society
Dharowali Chairman Privilege Committee
Member of Committee on Public Undertakings, GAC, Library
Member of Committee on Estimates of Punjab Vidhan Sabha
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa at his office
Controversies
Tiff with Navjot Singh Sidhu
In October 2020, he placed a slip-on podium to stop Navjot Singh Sidhu while he was giving a speech for the first time after resigning from the Punjab cabinet. During the rally of the ‘Save Agriculture’ mission, Sidhu started attacking the then Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh in his speech in the presence of the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. On being stopped by Randhawa, Sidhu said,
Don’t stop bhaji ajj, ke rakhya tussi sitting a lot.”
An Accusation of Disrespecting Sikh Guru
He landed into a huge controversy when one of his old videos went viral in 2019. In the video, he was seen saying,
Hun aa dekho na Guru Nanak sahib aa ae fauji bana ditta aa… dooro dekho ta captain sahib nahi lagde.”
On this remark, the opposition leaders got angry and considered it an insult to the Sikh Guru and Sikh community. They demanded strict action against Randhawa for this statement.
Feud Between Captain Amarinder Singh and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa
His relations with one of his closest political leaders Captain Amarinder Singh started affecting badly when the sacrilege issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which was led by Kunwar Vijay Pratap in 2021. On 27 April 2021, during a cabinet meeting the argument heated up between Captain and Randhawa to such an extent that Randhawa signed his resignation on the spot, and Captain tore his resignation. Later, Randhawa raised many questions on the work of Advocate General of Punjab Atul Nanda which was not well received by Captain.
Allegations of Protecting his CA in Cheating Case
His assistant was found guilty in a cheating case in which he delivered sugar worth Rs. 74 lakh and made a payment of Rs. 57 lakh. Randhawa was accused of protecting his CA from strict actions by the government. The leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal while talking to the reporters said,
The high court has also asked the government to explain why the Minister’s PA, who is stated to be the mastermind behind this cheating case, has not been arrested so far. It is several days since the cheating case came to light as well as to disclosures that Mr Sukhjinder Randhawa’s PA used to use the minister’s office to strike such deals. It is clear that the minister is shielding his PA to ensure the skeletons in the former’s cupboards do not come tumbling down. A free and fair inquiry would not be possible so long as Randhawa stays in office.”
Net Worth
Assets/Properties Movable Assets (as of 2017)
Deposits in Banks, Financial Institutions and Non-Banking Financial Companies: Rs. 7.34 lakh
LIC or other insurance Policies: Rs. 50,000
Motor Vehicles: Rs. 16 lakh
Jewellery: Rs. 18 lakh
Immovable Assets (as of 2017)
Agricultural Land: Rs. 1.9 crore
Non-Agricultural Land: Rs. 50 lakh
Income
Total Income as in 2015-2016 (approx.): Rs. 24.45 lakh