Much-loved for his films, actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol is finding it hard to please his constituents in the Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts of Punjab.
The 63-year-old parliamentarian who made his political debut with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in April last year has been declared “missing” in posters that have surfaced at the railway station and parks in the adjoining Pathankot district.
The posters that read ‘Gumshuda ki talaash' (Search for the missing) have been reportedly put up by the locals who are allegedly upset by Mr Deol’s prolonged absence from his constituency.
He has also logged a low attendance in the Parliament. As per records, Mr Deol was absent for 28 days in the very first session.
Soon after the posters surfaced, Mr Deol released a video message on Twitter holding his political rivals responsible for coming up with “nonsensical things” against him.
He added that “Opposition leaders should work for the welfare of people. I am also working towards resolving the issue of traffic congestion in the city.”
Mr Deol, who fought the 2019 Lok Sabha elections had contested against Congress’ Sunil Jakhar and Aam Aadmi Party’s Peter Masih in a three-way contest.
He is the third member of the Deol clan to have dabbled in politics, after father Dharmendra who won the Lok Sabha seat from Bikaner in Rajasthan; and stepmother Hema Malini who has been elected an MP from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh for the second time last year.
Commenting on his absence, Congress leader Manish Tewari said that his father, Dharmendra too was criticised for his absence from his constituency during his tenure as a parliamentarian from Bikaner.
Yadu Singh, a resident of Gurdaspur, told SBS Punjabi that he had voted for the star politician because he had promised the people that he would “serve them” and “not go anywhere else".
“People of Gurdaspur had high expectations from Sunny Deol. But like other celebrity leaders, he too ran away to his world of films in Mumbai,” said Mr Singh.
However, Mr Deol's party is standing behind him and says he is an “honest and competent” leader.
Mr Deol had earlier courted controversy when he had appointed writer Gurpreet Singh Palheri as his representative to the constituency, in July last year.
Later, issuing a clarification, the star politician tweeted that he had appointed Palheri as his personal assistant to ensure a smooth flow of work in his absence in the constituency.
