Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh is eyeing greener pastures back home with support from abroad.
The former Chief Minister is going global to seek support from the NRIs, particularly Sikhs, settled across the seas, especially after their support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), during 2014 General Elections, helped them to secure four seats out of 13 in Punjab.
Capt Amarinder, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president, would kick-start his poll campaign from the United States and Canada from April 19.
He had earlier planned to visit the two countries in October the previous year to woo the NRI brethren ahead 2017 State Assembly polls, but put off his plans citing federal elections in Canada, schedule in mid-October, as a reason for the same.
During his visit, Capt Amarinder would hold meetings, interactions with Punjabi diaspora in various cities of the two countries. Main places on his itinerary include Chicago, los Angeles, San Francisco in the US and Toronto and Vancouver in Canada.
“We would arrange meetings, interactions and various events where the NRIs can openly interact with Capt Amarinder on any issues they wanted to take up,” a senior Congress leader informed The Pioneer.
The leader said that all the issues marring the state, especially related to the NRIs, would be discussed, ranging from the state of affairs in Punjab, steps he would take if elected to power blacklisted Sikh NRIs, among others.
The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had in 2015 sent its five-member ministerial delegation to Canada and North America to woo the NRIs, which, at some places, faced protests.
The move by the state’s major political parties to seek support from the NRIs was mainly to counter the AAP’s support base. During 2014 parliamentary polls, the NRIs rallied behind AAP by supporting through social media, poll funding and campaigning, leading to its emergence in Punjab.
Besides lending a helping hand in the State’s election campaigning, either from abroad or by flocking here, the NRIs have been seen making lavish donations to the much-needed poll funds.
It is estimated that around 11 million NRIs are living in various countries across the world, most of whom are from Punjab. The Doaba belt, comprising Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr districts, had seen maximum immigration to arid zones from Punjab.
Notably, in the US alone, there are approximately seven lakh Punjabis, of whom nearly 2.5 lakh hold Indian passports and are eligible to vote in the Punjab elections.
As the Punjab Congress president in 2011, Amarinder had also used radio talk shows to connect to the Punjabi diaspora before the previous state Assembly polls in 2012.
He was hosted by popular Punjabi FM radio channels of Canada such as CKYE 93.1 Red FM in Canada and Sher-e-Punjab and Punjabi Radio, headquartered at San Jose, California.
The US-based NGO — Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) — had also filed a criminal complaint against Capt Amarinder to seek his criminal prosecution considered to be the possible reason behind postponing his earlier plans to visit the USIJ.
The SFJ has sought “for reinstating, promoting and protecting police
officials named repeatedly by victims and human rights groups as perpetrators of torture, disappearances, and extrajudicial executions during counter-insurgency operations in the 1990s”.
However, Amritsar MP had described the same as being filed with the sole purpose of seeking cheap publicity. He had maintained that the complaint was “totally motivated and has been prompted at the behest of certain vested interests and political parties in Punjab which do not want him to visit the US”.