Simranjit Singh Mann

Indian politician (born 1955) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Simranjit Singh Mann

Simranjit Singh Mann (born 20 May 1945)[1] is a former Indian Police Service officer and a former Member of the Parliament in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India, representing the constituency of Sangrur since 2022. He lost elections in 2024 and Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer became new member of parliament. He is the president of the political party Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar). Mann has served three-times as an MP; once from Taran Tarn between 1989 and 1991, and twice from Sangrur between 1999-2004 and since 2022.[2][3][4] He is a known Khalistani supporter and his party is known for their pro-Khalistan stances.[5][6][7]

Quick Facts Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Preceded by ...
Simranjit Singh Mann
Thumb
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
26 June 2022  4 June 2024
Preceded byBhagwant Mann
Succeeded byGurmeet Singh Meet Hayer
ConstituencySangrur
In office
6 October 1999  13 May 2004
Preceded bySurjit Singh Barnala
Succeeded bySukhdev Singh Dhindsa
ConstituencySangrur
In office
2 December 1989  13 March 1991
Preceded byTarlochan Singh Tur
Succeeded bySurinder Singh Kairon
ConstituencyTarn Taran
President of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)
Assumed office
1 May 1994
Member of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee
In office
1996–2011
ConstituencyBassi Pathana
Personal details
Born (1945-05-20) 20 May 1945 (age 79)
Shimla, Punjab, British India
(present-day Himachal Pradesh, India)
Political partyShiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)
Other political
affiliations
Shiromani Akali Dal (until 1991)
SpouseGeetinder Kaur Mann
Children3 (Including Emaan Singh Mann)
Parent(s)Sardar Joginder Singh Mann and Sardarni Gurbachan Kaur
EducationB.A. (honours) (gold medalist)
Alma materGovt. College, Chandigarh
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionAgriculturist & Police Officer
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Early life

Simranjit Singh Mann was born in Shimla on 20 May 1945.[1] His father Joginder Singh Mann, was a speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha in 1967.[8]

Mann was educated at the Bishop Cotton School, Shimla and Government College Chandigarh. He was a gold medalist in the subjects of history, Punjabi language, religion and political science.[1]

Indian Police Service

Mann joined the Indian Police Service in 1967, and served in the Punjab Cadre of the Service.[1]

He served as Aide-de-camp (ADC) to the Governor of Punjab. He was also posted as a police officer in several districts.[9] He served in several positions, including ASP Ludhiana City, Addl. SP Ferozepur, SP Hoshiarpur, SSP Faridkot, AIG GRP Punjab-Patiala division, Deputy Director of Vigilance Bureau Chandigarh, Deputy Inspector General of Punjab Armed Police, and DIG (Group Commandant) of CISF, Bombay.[1]

He resigned from Indian Police Service on 18 June 1984 in protest of Operation Blue Star.[1][9] In July 1984 he was dismissed from IPS.[1][clarification needed]

Political career

Summarize
Perspective

He was charged with the conspiracy to assassinate Indira Gandhi. He was arrested on 29 November 1984 and spent five years in Bhagalpur prison.[1]

He was elected as the president of the new party United Shiromani Akali Dal.[1]

Due to his 1984 Political involvements he won 1989 Lok sabha elections from Tarn Taran (Lok Sabha constituency) in absentia with their 6 other candidates on Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) ticket and 3 other candidates also won backed by them.[10] Afterwards he won 1999 Lok Sabha elections from Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency. He also won 1996, 2004 SGPC elections from Bassi Pathana.[10]

Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha

1989–1991

He was elected in absentia to the Lok Sabha representing the constituency of Tarn Taran by an overwhelming majority, and unconditionally released "in the interests of the State" in November 1989, with all charges dropped. By this time he had spent five years in prison.[11]

In 1990, Mann insisted on bearing his Kirpan (small sword) into the Parliament session, a religious rite in the Sikh Faith. The security regulations of the Parliament did not allow arms into the house. Accordingly, was denied entry into the Sansad Bhavan (Parliament house) with the weapon. Mann decided to not attend the Parliament.[12] He subsequently resigned his seat in protest.[13]

1999-2004

On 3 November 1999, after Mann was elected to the Lok Sabha by winning in the Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the Government of India and the Passport Office in Chandigarh to issue a passport to him.[14]

On 23 March 2004, Prakash Singh Badal accused Mann of running derogatory ads against him and indulging in character assassination.[15]

He contested re-election in the 2004 Indian general election from Sangrur constituency but lost the election and came in third position.

He remained the president of the SAD (Amritsar) party for eighteen years. In the 2007 Punjab Legislative Assembly election SAD (Amritsar) contested on 60 seats. Radical organization Dal Khalsa (International) had supported candidates of SAD (Amritsar). Mann had contested from Dhanaula Assembly constituency and his son Emaan Singh Mann contested from Sirhind. All the 60 candidates including Mann lost the election with big margins. Most candidates of SAD (Amritsar) had lost their security deposit in the election. Mann offered to resign after his party's poor performance.[9]

2022-2024

In the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, he lost to Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Amargarh Assembly Constituency.[16]

In June 2022, he won the by-poll for the Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency vacated by then MP, Bhagwant Mann, who went to become Chief Minister of Punjab, Mann won the election by a margin of 5,822 votes. During the election he campaigned for the release of Sikh prisoners.[17][18][19] His grandson was in-charge of his election campaign.[20]

In August 2022, he objected to President Droupadi Murmu being referred to as the name "Rashtrapati". He said, "I strongly believe Rashtrapati word is an insult to a woman President." His comments were expunged from the records of the parliament.[21] He asked for elections in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex religious body of Sikhs.[22]

He lost the Sangrur seat in 2024 General elections to Meet Hayer of Aam Aadmi Party.[23]

Political positions

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Perspective

Khalistan

Mann is a proponent of Sikh nation state Khalistan.[17] Under his leadership, his party SAD (A) continued its position of creating Khalistan as a buffer state between India and Pakistan. Under him, SAD (A) continued spreading the ideology of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.[1]

Every year his supporters gather in the sacred Golden Temple and raise pro-Khalistan slogans. He dedicated his 2022 Lok Sabha election victory to the Khalistan separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.[17][24]

On 20 March 2023, Mann's Twitter account was blocked in India. Mann had tweeted condemning the Punjab Police's operation against separatist leader Amritpal Singh and the arrest of his supporters.[25][26]

Bhagat Singh

In 2007, Mann had called freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, a "petty terrorist". A lawsuit was filed against him, but the prosecution failed to prove its case and he was acquitted by the civil court in 2013. After his release, Mann said, "My acquittal has vindicated my words that Bhagat Singh was a terrorist and not a martyr."[27]

In 2015, he objected to naming the Chandigarh airport after Bhagat Singh and called him a terrorist. He had said, "Bhagat Singh is neither a martyr nor a national hero. He is a terrorist. We are against the naming of Chandigarh International airport as Shaheed-E-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Airport."[28]

In 2022, he called Bhagat Singh "a terrorist" involved in "terror activities in pre-Independent India".[29] AAP leaders condemned the statement and asked him to apologize.[30][31] Residents of Khatkar Kalan, Bhagat Singh's native village protested near the Bhagat Singh Museum, shouted slogans of "Death to Simranjit Singh Mann", hit his effigy with shoes and burnt it.[32]

General Reginald Dyer

In 1919, after General Reginald Dyer's Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Mann's maternal grandfather Arur Singh, then sarbarah (in-charge) of the Golden Temple had honoured General Dyer with a "siropa" at Akal Takht. Singh was a British government appointee. Arur Singh's act hurt Sikh psyche and is considered a "Black chapter" in Sikh history. In July 2022, Mann defended the act of his grandfather saying he did it to pacify Dyer's anger.[33]

Family

Mann is married to Geetinder Kaur,[34] who is a sister of Preneet Kaur, the wife of former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh.[35] The couple have a son and two daughters.[1][36][37][12]

Electoral performance

More information Party, Candidate ...
1989 Indian general election: Tarn Taran
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 527,707 88.1
INC Ajit Singh Mann 47,290 7.9
Independent Jaltar Singh Mehlanwala 5,234 0.9
Majority 480,417 80.2
Turnout 599,322 63.6%
Registered electors 942,162
SAD(A) gain from SAD Swing
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More information Party, Candidate ...
General Election 1996: Sangrur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SAD Surjit Singh Barnala 238,131 31.4
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 162,479 21.4
CPI(M) Chand Singh Chopra 156,770 20.7
INC Gurcharan Singh Dadhaboor 140,877 18.6
Majority 75,652 10.0
Turnout 757,827 71.6
SAD gain from INC Swing
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More information Party, Candidate ...
Punjab Assembly election, 1997: Qila Raipur[38]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SAD Parkash Singh Badal 38,532 44.74
CPI(M) Tarsem Jodhan 27500 31.93
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 15377 17.85
INC Jagdev Singh Jassowal 4716 5.48
Majority
Turnout 86125 71.54
Registered electors
SAD gain from CPI(M) Swing
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More information Party, Candidate ...
General Election 1998: Sangrur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SAD Surjit Singh Barnala 297,393 39.8 Decrease8.40
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 215,228 28.8 Increase7.40
INC Gurcharan Singh Dadhaboor 187,711 25.1 Increase6.10
CPI(M) Chand Singh Chopra 35,380 4.7 Decrease16.00
Majority 82,165 11.0 Increase1.00
Turnout 7,47,116 66.4 Decrease5.20
SAD hold
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More information Party, Candidate ...
General Election 1999: Sangrur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 298,846 41.7 Increase12.90
SAD Surjit Singh Barnala 212,529 29.7 Increase0.90
CPI(M) Ajit Singh 190,824 26.6 Increase21.90
Independent Nirmal Singh 5,738 0.80 N/A
Majority 86,317 12.1 Increase1.10
Turnout 7,16,182 62.5 Decrease3.90
SAD(A) gain from SAD Swing
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More information Party, Candidate ...
General Election 2004: Sangrur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SAD Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa 286,828 34.2 Increase4.50
INC Arvind Khanna 259,551 31.0 N/A
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 216,898 25.9 Decrease
BSP Mangat Rai Bansal 38,215 4.6 N/A
Independent Sukhdev Singh Bari 14,289 1.7 N/A
Independent Mohamad Shamshad 8,872 1.1 N/A
Majority
Turnout =
SAD gain from SAD(A) Swing
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More information Party, Candidate ...
Assembly election, 2007: Dhanaula[39][40]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
INC Kuldip Singh Bhathal 42,105
SAD Gobind Singh Longowal 38581
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 16303
Independent Rajwinder Kaur Rozzy Bhathal 5869
BSP Karnail Singh Dulet 3411
CPI(ML)L Labh Singh Aklia 1569
Turnout 107838
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More information Party, Candidate ...
General Election 2009: Sangrur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
INC Vijay Inder Singla 358,670 38.52
SAD Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa 3,17,798 34.13
LBP Balwant Singh Ramoowalia 115,012 12.35
BSP Mohmad. Jamil-Ur-Rehman 69,943 7.51
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 33,714 3.62
Majority 40,872 4.39
Turnout 931,200 74.41
INC gain from SAD Swing -14.06
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More information Party, Candidate ...
Punjab Assembly election, 2012: Fatehgarh Sahib
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
INC Kuljit Singh Nagra 58,205 46.65
SAD Prem Singh Chandumajra 33035 29.62
PPoP Didar Singh Bhatti 32065 28.75
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 3234 2.9
Independent Harbans Lal 2163 1.94
BSP Tarlochan Singh 1748 1.57
Majority 3538 3.17
Turnout 111529 84.45
Registered electors 149,715 [41]
INC win (new seat)
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More information Party, Candidate ...
General Election 2014: Khadoor Sahib
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SAD Ranjit Singh Brahmpura 467,332 43.4 Decrease4.52
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 3,66,763 35.2 Decrease10.83
INC Harminder Singh Gill 1,66,763 12.25 New
Aam Admi Party Baldeep Singh 13,990 New
Margin of victory 1,00,569 Decrease0.22
Turnout 10,40,622 66.56 Decrease4.08
SAD hold Swing
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More information Party, Candidate ...
Assembly election, 2017: Barnala[42]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
AAP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer 47,606 35.49
INC Kewal Singh Dhillon 45,174 33.67
SAD Surinder Pal Singh Sibia 31,111 23.19
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 5,061 3.77
BSP Paramjit Kaur 2,369 1.77
NOTA None of the above 889 0.66
Registered electors 171,962 [41]
AAP gain from INC
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More information Party, Candidate ...
General Election 2019: Sangrur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
AAP Bhagwant Mann 413,561 37.40 Decrease11.07
INC Kewal Singh Dhillon 303,350 27.43 Increase9.93
SAD Parminder Singh Dhindsa 263,498 23.83 Decrease5.40
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 48,365 4.37
LIP Jasraj Singh Longia 20,087 1.82
NOTA None of the Above 6,490 0.59 Increase0.39
Majority 1,10,211 9.97 Decrease10.46
Turnout 11,07,256 72.40
AAP hold Swing Decrease10.5
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More information Party, Candidate ...
Assembly Election, 2022: Amargarh
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
AAP Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra 44,523 34.28 Increase
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 38480 29.63 Increase
SAD Iqbal Singh Jhundan 26068 20.07 Decrease
INC Smit Singh[43] 16923 13.03 Decrease
PLC Sardar Ali 1342 1.03 New
NOTA None of the above 595 0.46 Decrease
Majority 6043 4.65 Decrease
Turnout 129868 77.95
Registered electors 165,909 [44]
AAP gain from INC
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More information Party, Candidate ...
2022 By-election: Sangrur[45]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 253,154 35.61 Increase31.24
AAP Gurmail Singh 247,332 34.79 Decrease2.61
INC Dalvir Singh Goldy 79,668 11.21 Decrease16.22
BJP Kewal Singh Dhillon 66,298 9.33 New
SAD Bibi Kamaldeep Kaur Rajoana 44,428 6.25 Decrease17.58
NOTA None of the Above 2471 0.35
Majority 6,245 0.88
Turnout 7,10,919 45.3% Decrease27.1
Registered electors 15,69,240 [46]
SAD(A) gain from AAP Swing Increase16.92
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More information Party, Candidate ...
General Election 2024: Sangrur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
AAP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer 364,085 36.06 Increase1.27
INC Sukhpal Singh Khaira 1,91,525 18.97 Increase7.76
SAD(A) Simranjit Singh Mann 1,87,246 18.55 Decrease17.06
BJP Arvind Khanna 1,28,253 12.70 Increase3.37
SAD Iqbal Singh Jhundan 62,488 6.19 Decrease0.06
NOTA None of the Above 3,820 0.38 Increase0.03
Majority 1,72,560 Increase17.09 Increase16.21
Turnout 10,09,665
Registered electors 15,56,601
AAP gain from SAD(A) Swing Increase1.27
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See also

  1. Parkash Singh Badal
  2. Captain Amarinder Singh

References

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