Former IAS officer KJS Cheema on Thursday joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the presence of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal at the party headquarters in Chandigarh.A close aide of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, the 1993-batch West Bengal cadre officer had served on deputation as his Special Principal Secretary for a considerable period, in addition to holding other administrative responsibilities in the Punjab government.Sukhbir said that it was a moment of pride to have an officer of the caliber of KJS Cheema join the SAD. Hailing from Moonak, a town in Sangrur district, Cheema has an illustrious career to his credit.Sukhbir recalled that Cheema was a shadow of Parkash Singh Badal and always accompanied him whenever and wherever he visited as CM. “Cheema’s job was to implement and materialise the words of Badal saheb,” he said. Launching an attack on Bhagwant Singh Mann-led AAP, he said that AAP has been a bundle of lies and has misguided the people of Punjab.He said that the ‘Punjab Bachao’ march was conducted to expose the AAP’s ill-conceived policies and non-constructive approach. “The AAP government claimed to have attracted investment of several lakh crore. I had asked my team to discover through RTI how much investment has actually been made in Punjab.The RTI revealed that during 2022-2026, only Rs 2,600 crore investment has been made across the state against their frivolous claims,” he said. Sukhbir said that it was pleasant to see that the officer class too intends to strengthen the SAD cadre.“As a former Captain in the Indian Army, a strong sense of discipline and dedication is ingrained in his character. I am sure these qualities of head and heart will prove to be an asset for the SAD. I welcome him wholeheartedly into the Shiromani Akali Dal and thank him for choosing Punjab’s only regional party, which has a 105-year-old record of sewa and sacrifice. I am confident the party will benefit from his vast repository of knowledge and immense field experience,” he said.After formally joining the SAD, Cheema said that the ideology of SAD inspired him to be associated with the party. Cheema had joined the Punjab government in 2007. Interestingly, the then PM Manmohan Singh himself had turned down Cheema’s inter-cadre deputation in 2008 and advised him to return to his parent cadre state of West Bengal without further loss of time, but Badal insisted on retaining him.He served with Badal during the SAD-BJP regime from 2007-2012 and 2012-2017. After the change of guard in Punjab, the then CM Capt Amarinder Singh in 2017 had asked the authorities to repatriate Cheema to his parent state as his “stay in Punjab was unauthorised” after the Centre had disallowed his deputation with Punjab. Consequently, he was sent back to his parent state on April 28, 2017.He also held key positions at the Centre and other states. He was additional chief secretary to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for four years and remained secretary to the then Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee for a span of five years.