Kisan Sangharsh Samarthan Committee members burn an effigy of the IMF in Bathinda. Tribune photo
Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Gurdaspur, January 19
Barely 19 months after winning the seat by a margin of 70,000 votes, BJP MP Sunny Deol is finding the doors of his constituency shut. Seven Congress MLAs, the lone SAD legislator and four farm unions have made their intentions clear of keeping Deol out. The constituency has a total of nine Assembly seats.

The actor-turned-MP has been missing in action since September last year. A senior police officer said CID reports signaled that the MP was sure to face the fury of farmers if he made an appearance.
The farm unions are Kirti Kisan Union, Punjab Kisan Union, Jambhoori Kisan Sabha, Ex-Sainik Sangharsh Committee and the Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Morcha. Dr Dharam Pal, convener of the All India Kisan Sangarsh Coordination Committee, said if the actor came to Gurdaspur, he would not only be boycotted but protests would also be held outside his office in Pathankot.
In a related development, Cabinet Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has sent an invitation to BJP MP Hema Malini asking her to come to Punjab “on an all expenses paid trip and enlighten the farmers on what are the exact benefits of the farm laws.” She recently claimed “the laws are good but farmers have failed to understand the benefits.”