CHANDIGARH: Canadian team of parliamentarians. who visited Punjab on the eve of this month’s Punjab election spent more than two hours with Captain Amarinder Singh at hotel Mount view here on the Indian external affairs “ministries” suggestion, The ministry convinced the Canadian M.Ps that His Highness, the Patiala former rulers son, was very popular with Sikhs and that he was likely to get a sizeable number of M.I .AS and most probably would head the next in Punjab. It was, therefore necessary to talk to him to learn the “Sikh view: point”. The Canadian team was taken in; They exchanged views with the future chief minister of Punjab. The results must have come to the MPs as a rude shock. Amarinder Singhs party “won Just three seats and poled a mere 11% of Punjab’s electorate of 1,31,69725. The party segregate votes are 1,65,073. The Canadian team members while in Chandigarh were heard wondering as to why most Sikh groups were not participating in Indias “democratic process.”
Article extracted from this publication >> March 6, 1992
