The election commission of India has withdrawn actor Sonu Sood’s appointment as state icon for Punjab. Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer Dr S Karuna Raju has confirmed that the ECI had withdrawn the appointment of Sonu Sood as a state icon of Punjab on January 4. Earlier, the officer had sent a proposal to the ECI regarding withdrawal of Sonu Sood’s appointment and they had approved the same. On 7th January 2022 the election commission has revoked this decision.
Though the reason behind this withdrawal is not specified, it must be noted that the actor’s sister had announced that she will contest the upcoming state assembly elections.
Press Release:
— Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab (@TheCEOPunjab) January 7, 2022
Election Commission of India has withdrawn the appointment of Actor Sonu Sood as a state icon for Punjab.#TheCEOPunjab #PunjabVotes2022@ECISVEEP @SpokespersonECI @rajivkumarec @DDNewslive
The removal
The Punjab CEO had on December 10 2021 written to the Election Commission of India recommending the withdrawal of Sonu Sood as the state icon of Punjab. This was approved by the ECI. The decision to remove Sonu Sood as the state icon has come after the official announcement made by the actor in a press conference about the entry of her sister Malvika Sood Sacher into politics. Aged 39, Malvika is likely to contest the elections from the Moga constituency. Sonu had refused to reveal the name of the political party and the constituency but he had expressed the interest and preference for his hometown.
Appointed as Punjab’s icon in November 2020
The Chief Election Officer of Punjab had appointed him as the icon of the state in November 2020. It was reportedly because he had helped several people during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, several allegations of fraud had emerged against Sood, that was ignored by the state. The tweet by the officer’s handle had said that “The real hero of people is now the state icon of Punjab – Sonu Sood.”
Bollywood actor Sonu Sood has been appointed as the state icon of Punjab by Election Commission.
— INDO CANADA TV (@indocanadatv) November 17, 2020
The announcement was made on the Twitter handle by the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab. It read, “The real hero of people is now the state icon of Punjab – Sonu Sood” pic.twitter.com/DaGQUdrlSG
What had Sonu Sood said in the press conference?
While talking in the press conference held at his home, Sonu Sood had said, “Politics is the biggest platform for serving people. You can change people’s lives with just one signature. Besides, the system can be made better by staying in it. I want to announce that Malvika will definitely come forward to serve people. She has done great work by serving society in the past and she had got a lot of love from people for this. Now she is ready and wants to return this love back to people.”
