Facing flak, MP Deol justifies appointment

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, July 2

Sunny Deol, local BJP MP, who found himself at the centre of a storm after he appointed a screenwriter as his representative, today clarified that his appointee would “ensure the smooth flow of work when I (Sunny Deol) am out of Gurdaspur to attend Parliament or travelling to work”.

The appointment of Gurpreet Singh Palheri, alias Giani, had surprised BJP leaders of the constituency.

After the media carried reports of Palheri’s appointment as the MP’s representative, senior party leaders claimed that the film actor could have done better by asking a person who had enough political experience and knowledge of the constituency to act as his PA.

“Four-time MP and Deol’s predecessor Vinod Khanna himself monitored the affairs of the area. He never appointed a PA despite the fact that he was entitled to one. Likewise was for former Congress MPs Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder and Sunil Jakhar. Jakhar never kept a representative or a PA to oversee what was happening in the constituency. He himself used to talk to the officials concerned to apprise himself of the developments including the ones relating to the construction of railway underpasses and overbridges,” said a senior leader. “The party is not against Sunny Deol’s decision to appoint a PA. All I am saying is that the PA should be well-versed with the political affairs of the area,” he added.

The MP in his Tweet today said, “We have our entire party leadership in the constituency to look into matters who have my full support and vice versa.”

Meanwhile, Cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, said: “He has every right to appoint his own man but that man should have knowledge of the area.”