Sunny paaji, Gurdaspur is waiting for you

The bright lights of Bollywood, it seems, have started fading. MP and film actor Sunny Deol has not been seen in his constituency for the last 10 months. His absence has left his fast dwindling flock of followers disillusioned.

There are numerous projects like the elevation of the 3.6-km narrow gauge rail track running within the municipal limits of the city, which urgently require Centre’s intervention.

Agreed, Deol’s absence to some extent can be attributed to the fact that he was recently admitted in a US hospital for treatment of an ailment. However, now that he is back, as is evident from his recent photographs clicked with the Railway Minister and other dignitaries in New Delhi, residents want him to have a tour of his constituency.

Residents led by Ashish Vij, brother of MLA Amit Vij, are asking where are the Central Government funds needed to complete the elevated track project. “The Punjab government was to pay 40 per cent of the total cost while the union government was to come up with the remaining 60 per cent. The Punjab Government is ready with the money but where are the funds Deol had promised that he would get from the Centre? I request the MP to stop taking people for a ride,” he quipped.

Ashish also claimed that the setting up of a Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) was need of the hour. “But here too Central intervention is needed. The Qadian-Beas rail link, too, has been scrapped. Had the MP taken an interest, the link could have seen the light of the day. Deol is more interested in getting his photos clicked with New Delhi leaders and subsequently getting them published in Punjab-based newspapers,” added Ashish.

There are many like Jagjot Singh Sandhu, the young Batala based RTI activist, who claims he has written numerous letters to the MP urging him to take up the KV issue with the Ministry of Defence. “All my letters have gone in vain,” he said dejectedly.

Pathankot MLA Amit Vij maintained that the MP should place in public domain the list of developmental works he has initiated till yet. A BJP worker clarified that post the contentious farm bills, it had become difficult for him to visit his constituency. If that is the case then it will be a long time before the actor makes an appearance because the controversy pertaining to the agriculture laws is not likely to go away soon. If at all Deol does come calling, it will be difficult for Tara Singh of ‘Gadhar-Ek Prem Katha’ fame to tackle the rising anger of his constituents.

And till he comes his PA Pankaj Joshi will continue to hold fort. No doubt, Joshi is an efficient and cultured man but the problem is that the residents are not ready to settle down for anything less than having the actor in their midst. After all, everybody loves a celebrity. For an actor it is better to play well rather than not to play at all. Come back, Sunny paaji, Gurdaspur is waiting for you. After all, people made you win by a massive margin of 70,000 votes. Voters have high expectations from you. If you do not fulfil their aspirations, they will be in for a huge letdown.

Mr Deol have you ever heard about the famous Pygmalion effect, also known as the Rosenthal law? It states: “Higher expectations lead to an increase in performance and low expectations lead to a decrease in performance.”

– by Ravi Dhaliwal