Sunny Deol appoints representative in constituency, Cong claims ‘betrayal’

Gurdaspur: Actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol has appointed a representative in his parliamentary constituency Gurdaspur, who would "attend meetings" and follow "important matters" related to the city in his absence.

The move has attracted immense criticism by the Congress, which said Deol has betrayed people who voted for him.

Gurpreet Singh Palheri, a writer by profession, will represent Deol.

"I hereby appoint Gurpreet Singh Palheri, son of Supinder Singh, resident of village Palheri, district Mohali, Punjab, as my representative to attend meetings and follow important matters pertaining to my Parliamentary constituency, Gurdaspur (Punjab), with concerned authorities," a letter signed by Deol read.

Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said people of the Gurdaspur constituency had voted for Deol, not his representative.

"Sunny Deol has betrayed voters of Gurdaspur constituency by appointing a representative. How can an MP (Member of Parliament) appoint his representative? Voters have elected Sunny Deol as an MP, not his representative," Randhawa was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.

Palheri, however, downplayed the matter, saying his appointment would ensure a "24-hour service to people of Gurdaspur".

Sunny Deol became a member of parliament for the first time after he defeated Congress's Sunil Jakhar with a massive margin in the recent general election.

He lives in Mumbai and is currently attending the ongoing parliament session.

Sunny Deol, whose father Dharmendra and stepmother Hema Malini are also affiliated to the BJP, was approached by party chief Amit Shah himself ahead of the Gurdaspur election. Earlier, late actor Vinod Khanna had represented Gurdaspur constituency four times - in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2014 - on behalf of the BJP.