Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday accused the National Commission for Minorities chief Iqbal Singh Lalpura for “openly participating in political activities” of the BJP, and sought action against him by Election Commission of India (ECI) in this regard.

In a written complaint filed with ECI, Arshdeep Singh Kler, president, SAD legal wing, said that Lalpura was re-appointed as chairman of the National Commission for Minorities on April 13, 2022 by the Central government.

Stating that he was appointed under a statute and was believed to work towards the betterment of minorities without involving himself in the political activities of a particular party, Kler alleged that Lalpura was involved in the political activities of BJP and was present at the events of joining of political leaders into BJP. He said that last week Lalpura was also present at the BJP head office when the Congress MP Preneet Kaur joined BJP.

Kler said that this was a clear-cut violation of provision of the Constitution and model code of conduct as Lalpura was working as a political leader which otherwise was not expected from a chairman of National Commission for Minorities.

Registering a protest against what he termed as malpractices which was clear-cut violation of provision of Constitution and the model code of conduct, the SAD leader urged ECI to take strict action against him.