As the typical Bollywood action hero, Sunny Deol was never short of words, always finding the choicest lines to enthrall the audience. Sunny Deol the politician is, however, another story. Often tongue-tied, or speaking in layers. He has found himself in a spot as he has chosen to take a diplomatic stand in the farmer protest—toeing the party line by talking about the benefits of the three farm laws while claiming to stand with agitating farmers.
One of the two BJP MPs to be elected from Punjab, Gurdaspur had embraced him as the son of the soil. Now farmers have announced a “social boycott” of the actor. However, it is not just outside Parliament that Deol is facing the heat. It is believed that even within the House, he is being pursued to give his “first” speech as an MP.
It is known that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla goes out of his way to persuade MPs, especially those elected for the first time, to stand up and make themselves heard in the House. While he managed to coax most of MPs to participate in debates, ask questions or raise issues, Deol has been elusive so far. Sources say the Speaker has the habit of calling MPs to his office, giving them a pep-talk and cajoling them into speaking in the House. “Whenever Deol sees the Speaker walking in his direction, he changes his path to avoid an encounter with him because he knows what is coming,” reveals an official close to the Speaker.
Another member, who took a long time to open up and speak in the House is Pramila Bisoyi, BJD MP for Aska in Odisha. She was hesitant to speak initially since she is comfortable speaking only in Odia. However, the Speaker finally managed to convince the 71-year-old political greenhorn to speak. In the House, he took a moment to introduce her as the woman behind 70,000 women’s self-help groups in her area. Dressed in a traditional Sambalpuri sari, her head covered, Bisoyi spoke in Odia, asking for a hike in the remuneration of ASHA workers.
But the House still awaits the man with the “dhai kilo ka haath” to speak.
