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Dosanjh wants to take time off to think

There are indications that Ujjal Dosanjh, former Indo-Canadian premier of British Columbia, may be named a member of the Canadian Senate or given a high-profile diplomatic assignment by Prime Minister Jean Chretien, given their close and cordial relations.

Dosanjh, however, says that at this juncture he has only one option and that is to go back to his legal profession.

Of course, he agrees that he shares "a very good relationship with Prime Minister Chretien" who telephoned him a day after the May 16 election in British Columbia when Dosanjh's New Democratic Party was routed and even he lost his seat.

"We lost 38 MLAs and my seat was one of those 38," he told India Abroad in an exclusive interview on Saturday.

Dosanjh was in Toronto to attend a community reception held at Payal Banquet Hall in suburban Mississauga. "Mr Dosanjh created a powerful role model for our youth and opened up many new avenues for our community to better serve our country," said P Johal, who sponsored the reception.

The reception was organised on behalf of the Indo-Canadian community to thank Dosanjh for all that he had done for the community and the country.

Dosanjh said his plan "is to take a long holiday" as that would give him time to reassess and re-evaluate his life.

When Dosanjh was first elected premier of British Columbia in January last year, he was optimistic of being able to turn things around even though he knew his party was in trouble and its numbers in opinions polls were progressively declining.

"I knew it was going to be very tough. I was, however, optimistic and underestimated the amount of turning around that was needed... we were not able to change people's minds who wanted change," he said.

Asked how he lost his own seat, Dosanjh didn't give a straight answer. He merely said: "I will let others do the analysis. The defeat of the NDP has nothing to do with any one person."

It is well known that lack of transparency in the provincial budget, charges of corruption and a whole lot of other unethical deeds attributed to former NDP premier Glen Clark contributed to the party's rout.

"People basically had made up their minds that they needed a change and in their minds I didn't represent change, obviously," Dosanjh said.

He said he would wait a while before deciding what to do next. "At the moment I see only one option and that is going back to my practice in law."

Another Indo-Canadian legislator in Ontario, Raminder Gill, who was amongst the guests at the reception, said politics is in Dosanjh's blood. "I am confident he would come back to politics," Gill said.

Will Dosanjh's defeat in British Columbia have any negative impact on the South Asian community? "I believe our defeat doesn't change much for the community. There are eight South Asians who have been elected as Liberal MLAs," Dosanjh said.

He thanked the community for its "support and encouragement" and said he was touched by its warmth.

Dosanjh suggested that South Asians "need to have a presence in all aspects of Canadian life. That is the only way to become truly Canadians. Politics is just one aspect."

"There should be a repeat performance by someone sooner rather than later," he said, suggesting that another South Asian should come forward and stake his/her claim to become the leader and premier of a province.

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