CHANDIGARH: The Centre has yet again denied political clearance to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann to travel abroad. And this time, Punjab govt has moved Punjab and Haryana high court.On Thursday, Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya directed Union govt to file a response to Punjab govt’s petition by Oct 16 on why it denied Mann clearance to travel to France from Oct 15 to 21. The Punjab CM has been invited to a Paris food festival, featuring a Markfed exhibition stall, but his travel plans were grounded by the Centre’s denial.“What do we do?” an exasperated Mann told mediapersons in New Delhi on Thursday. “We received an invitation from French govt, and Markfed has put up a stall in Paris… but they (Centre) simply refuse to give me permission (to travel abroad). It seems only PM Modi can tour the world — visiting the most obscure places like Papua Guinea, ‘Manglesia,’ or ‘Changlesia’,” the Punjab CM said.He was earlier denied permission for a three-day trip to Japan, too, he said. “I wanted to watch the Asiad hockey semi-finals and finals. Since we are hosting the men’s Hockey Asian Champions Trophy from Oct 27, we wanted to extend a formal invitation to them in person but couldn’t go,” Mann said.“We have now moved high court, and hope to receive approval tomorrow. Our goal in traveling is strictly to benefit Punjab. We want to attract investors and create employment opportunities for our youth,” the CM said.Punjab govt’s petition challenges Centre’s decision as “arbitrary, without authority of law and violative of the federal structure of the Constitution”, and wants it quashed.According to the petition, Punjab govt had filed an application for the visit of a state delegation, led by the CM, to France for promotion of trade. It approached MEA through letters on Sept 3 and Sept 8 and submitted an online application on Sept 9. On Oct 12, Punjab govt found its application had been denied.The petition says no reason was assigned for the denial and neither was Punjab govt given an opportunity to clarify any concerns. It points out that Markfed’s participation in SIAL Paris 2026 had been confirmed under the APEDA India Pavilion and that the visit was intended to promote Punjab’s agricultural and processed food products in international markets.Punjab govt has sought a direction to the respondents to grant political clearance for the visit and asked for complete records relating to the application and the decision taken on it.This is not an isolated incident. Mann and his cabinet members have repeatedly been denied political clearance by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) for foreign visits. In Aug 2024, the Centre blocked Mann’s proposed trip to Paris to attend the Olympics and cheer on the Indian men’s hockey team, citing diplomatic and administrative reasons.Prior to that, Mann and then industries minister Sanjeev Arora were denied approval for an investment outreach tour to the UK and Israel ahead of Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit. More recently, MEA refused him clearance to travel to Japan for the Asian Games on security grounds.In Sept 2022, cabinet minister Aman Arora was refused approval for an official knowledge-sharing tour to Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Also, assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was denied clearance to attend a legislative speakers’ conference in the United States in Aug 2024. And minister Harbhajan Singh was blocked from representing Punjab’s governance model at a conference in Boston in Aug last year.The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership has termed these rejections politically motivated, alleging partisan political discrimination by the Centre toward Punjab.In contrast, neighbouring Haryana’s chief minister Nayab Singh Saini has consistently been granted prompt political clearances for his international delegations and investment tours. Recently, Saini led a state delegation to Singapore to pitch investment, urban infrastructure, and trade partnerships. Shortly after that, on Oct 14, he went on another four-day tour to Sweden to engage with international trade ministers and global investors.
