S idhu makes a brief speech. He refers to the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, time and again to prove his point.

While women and the youth are impressed by his personality, the elderly are impressed by his command over Gurbani. Whoever thought the suave Sidhu would be so familiar with the scriptures?

"I do not believe in caste and creed. As our 10th guru Guru Gobind Singh Sahibji said, "Manas ki jaat sabhe eke hi pehchan bo... avall Allah noor uppaya... kudrat de sab bande... ek noor te sab jaag upjaya kon bhale kaun mande (All human beings are the same. There is no distinction between one and another, no caste, no creed, no religion... The spirit of god prevails in all human beings. Who shall we say is bad and who shall we say is good?)," he explains.

Sidhu suddenly turns emotional and says he has never compromised on his principles. "Be it a matter of my turban or anything. I preferred to walk out of the team, as I did years ago, than compromise. I am not promising you anything because promises are meant to be broken. I will make honest attempts to solve the problems of Amritsar. Vote for Vajpayeeji who has turned an enemy into a friend. If the India-Pakistan border opens for trade it is the people of Amritsar who are going to benefit the most," he says amid shouts of Bole So Nihal Sat Sri Akal.

"I come from Patiala only a few hundred kilometres from Amritsar. Both are part of Punjab and they call me an outsider! Sonia Gandhi hails from Italy and she becomes an Indian. What kind of logic is this, my friends?" he asks.