Also, the truth is I would vote for somebody who looks different from me. I am not Bengali, still support Emon and Puja. Am not from Shillong or Bihar, but still support Deepali and Amit. [/quote]
Good for you, then why are you accusing those who vote for Prashant as being regionally biased? If you can vote unbaisedly, so can others.
[quote] And Prashant was a minority- I didn't even know this. And all Asians are brown, so how does Prashant become any different. [/quote]
Well, infact not all Asians are brown. I believe, Japenese, Chinese, Koreans and all the other Mongoloid origin Asians are Yellow, or do you not consider them as Asians? And Prashant and Chang, being of Mongoloid origins do look different and they are a minority. Whether you accept that or not is another story. I for one, have read enough stories from those belonging to Manipur, Mizoram etc to know that even in India, many Indians do not know that these people are in fact Indians because they don't look brown enough or don't have brown features.
[quote] "Fans of Prashant Tamang, a Nepali guy living in Darjeeling who has been selected as the top finalists at the popular reality show Indian Idol, are doing a lot of promotional campaigns to support him. His fans in Darjeeling have started a full-fledge campaign to support him by sending as many votes as possible. Banners that say 'Vote for Prashant", are hung at every nook and corner of Darjeeling; even school kids take offs from school to join in the campaign to encourage people to vote for him. Nepalis living in the borderline are also sending votes through SMS by using Indian mobile phones. Rallies are also being organized in his favor. What more? The Darjeeling Police have released a circular to encourage people to vote for him. Says Sandesh Gurung, Police Inspector, "Every vote counts, and we want to make him the winner." Prashant comes from a financially-weak family and his mother Rupa Tamang says, "If he wins, our lives would change." She also recalls how his son would bring prizes for winning at singing competitions during his schooldays. She's hopeful that he becomes the winner this time too. Fans from Nepal can also vote for him by sending SMS to 2722.
"Kumar Luitel,
Darjeeling [/quote]
What does this prove? Just that people are campaigning for Prashant in Darjeeling. But do you have any solid evidence to prove that he is getting votes from Darjeeling and Darjeeling alone? Ok, I have this for you:
"SHILLONG [TST] : When Amit Paul was pushed to danger zone on Friday last, Shillong was stunned. Amit Paul fans quickly got into action. Under the banner of the Shillong Arts and Music Lovers Forum which had spearheaded the 'Vote Amit Paul' campaign, public meetings were organised to drum up support for this self-made singer. In a largely attended public meeting at Jail Road Boys School, on Saturday last, people came from every corner of Shillong. A huge contingent from Mawlai shared their experiences of how they had got sponsorship for several PCOs so that fans could vote the whole night until the next morning. blah blah blah''
Now should I use this and start accusing Amit for getting 'regional votes' only? Ofcourse not, so why the double standard against Prashant? With no voting details to actually prove what some have been harping on about, it's high time people stopped using them.