Under fire for appointing ‘representative’, BJP MP Sunny Deol says ‘controversy being created out of nothing’

Gurdaspur (Punjab) BJP MP Sunny Deol Tuesday issued a statement saying that it was unfortunate to see a controversy being created out of nothing at all. (Source: File)

Facing flak over the appointment of a representative to stand in for him in Gurdaspur Lok Sabha constituency, actor and MP Sunny Deol Tuesday expressed it was “extremely unfortunate to see a controversy being created out of nothing”.

Deol, the first-time BJP MP, stated that the appointment was made to “ensure smooth flow of work” whenever he was “out of Gurdaspur”.

A row has erupted ever since Deol appointed Gurpreet Singh Palheri, a writer, as his representative to “attend meetings and follow important matters”. This move was widely panned by the ruling Congress which termed it “betrayal” of the voters’ mandate.

“I have appointed my PA (Personal Assistant) to represent my office in Gurdaspur. This appointment has been made to ensure smooth flow of work whenever I am out of Gurdaspur to attend Parliament or travelling for work,” Deol tweeted on Tuesday.

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— Sunny Deol (@iamsunnydeol) July 2, 2019

He said the intention behind such an appointment was “to merely ensure that no work is disrupted or delayed due to any reason whatsoever and to keep myself updated on daily basis”.

“We have our entire party leadership in the constituency to look into matters and have my full support and vice versa. I, as an elected Member of Parliament, am genuinely committed to the cause of Gurdaspur and will do my best to ensure that I serve my people to the best of my capacity,” the actor-politician wrote on his Twitter handle.

In a letter issued on the letterhead of the Gurdaspur MP, Deol had appointed Palheri as his “representative”.

On Monday, Punjab minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa lashed out at Deol for appointing a representative and dubbed the move a “betrayal” of the voters of the border constituency.

In the recently-held Lok Sabha polls, Deol defeated Congress’ Sunil Jakhar with a margin of 82,459 votes.