Mann addresses Punjabi NRI's in Canada over webcam

FATEHGARH SAHIB: Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann, who is contesting Punjab assembly election from Dhanaula constituency, gave a speech to his supporters in Surrey (Canada) via webcam from Punjab. 

FATEHGARH SAHIB: Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann, who is contesting Punjab assembly election from Dhanaula constituency, gave a speech to his supporters in Surrey (Canada) via webcam from Punjab.  

Mann attracted more than 700 Indo-Canadians at a banquet in Surrey when he gave a speech via webcam on Sunday.

Mann, who delivered a 20-minute speech beamed live onto four giant screens at the Grand Taj banquet hall. He advocated independence for Punjab and the creation of a separate Sikh homeland called Khalistan through non-violent means.

It may be mentioned here that representatives of Punjab's political parties are busy campaigning and fundraising in British Columbia among the sizeable Indo-Canadian community, especially Sikhs, ahead of the February 13 polls in Punjab.

As per reports, the party members are focusing in British Columbia's Lower Midland area where there is a large Indo-Canadian population. Although Indo-Canadians are not allowed to vote in Indian elections, but the campaign leaders are hoping to influence them enough so that they are able to sway votes back home among relatives. 

It is learnt that an Indio-Canadian, who is living in Canada for 23 years and whose father-in-law is one of the candidates for the elections in Punjab, organized a rally of more than 100 people in Surrey. 'They - can affect the outcome of the elections because sometimes the victory is decided by 1,000-2,000 votes, and a call from here is very important. People do listen to people from Canada and they vote that way,' as per this Indo-Canadian. He claimed that he organized the luncheon to raise support, not money.

'It's not legal for political parties in India to accept contributions from a foreign source. But he said Indian citizens living abroad can make political donations,' as per legal experts. 

As per reports, SAD (Amritsar) is only one of several parties canvassing the Lower Mainland for money, influence and votes ahead of the Feb. 13 election. Since the majority of Indo-Canadians living in Surrey are of Punjabi origin, the B.C. city has become a key battleground for elections halfway across the world.

As per reports, the poll issue in Punjab has been widely discussed on Punjabi-language radio stations based in the Lower Mainland, which is home to more than 300,000 Indo-Canadians. Candidates such as Simranjit Singh Mann are phoning into stations from India on a daily basis to discuss issues and encourage support from people living abroad -- although Canadian citizens can't vote in the elections.

Surrey-based Radio-India has been arranging on-air phone interviews for the past three weeks from some of the 117 candidates in Punjab. As per talk show host Harpreet, "It's a very interlinked community in which the majority of the relatives are still living in India," "The politicians come on the radio stations appealing for votes because they know a big chunk of the electorate can be influenced by the people living over here."