CHANDIGARH, Aug 3: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday said the Centre has denied political clearance to him for visiting Paris to support the Indian hockey team at the ongoing Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan said he has also been denied political clearance for going to the US to participate in a legislature conference from August 4 to August 7.
Mann, who holds a diplomatic passport, was scheduled to visit Paris from August 3 to August 9 for the Indian hockey team’s quarterfinal clash on August 4 and had sought political clearance for the same.
The Centre denied him the permission, saying since Mann is a Z-plus security protectee, it is not possible to arrange his level of security at a short notice, an official source in the Punjab government said.
Political clearance for travelling abroad for senior political leaders is required from the Ministry of External Affairs.
Mann spoke to Indian men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh on Saturday and congratulated his squad for a historic win over Australia in the ongoing Olympic Games.
Speaking to the skipper over the phone, Mann said he wanted to visit Paris to encourage the team, which is scheduled to appear in the quarterfinal clash on August 4, but the Union government has not given him permission for it.
Due to reasons best known to the Centre, the political clearance was denied to him, Mann said.
He said he wanted to be with the hockey players during the match but will now have to see them in action on television.
He expressed hope that the hockey team will script a new success story by bagging a gold medal for the country.
The entire country is eagerly waiting for this defining moment, he said, adding that a rousing reception will be given to the hockey team returning home with a medal.
Sandhwan said he has been denied permission to visit Kentucky in the United States to attend the conference.
He claimed that the speakers from opposition-ruled states Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala have also been denied clearance to travel abroad but the speaker from Meghalaya has been given the go-ahead.
Sandhwan accused the Centre of preventing the speakers from the non-BJP-ruled states, including Punjab, from participating in the conference.
Terming the move unfortunate and accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre of playing petty politics, the speaker said, “It is extremely dangerous for the federal structure of the nation, apart from creating hindrances in the welfare and progress of the states and the country.”
He emphasised that the conference was an opportunity for more than 3,000 legislators to come together and share their vision, but the Centre’s move has deprived the speakers of the non-BJP-ruled states to get the chance.
He said the country can be empowered only through fair political practices.
“The Union government is doing these things deliberately as the BJP does not want to strengthen the federal fabric of the nation,” Sandhwan alleged in a statement.
Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Punjab general secretary Harchand Singh Barsat condemned the denial of permission to Mann to visit France.
“By not allowing Mann to visit Paris, the central government has not only insulted the three crore people of Punjab but has also hurt their sentiments, as most of the players in the Indian hockey team are from Punjab. This is equivalent to putting a stop to the fundamental rights of a constitutionally-elected person,” Barsat said in a statement.
The denial of permission to Mann to visit Paris to boost the morale of the hockey team is another example of discrimination against Punjab, he alleged.
Stopping AAP leaders from going abroad is not new, Barsat said.
Earlier, the Narendra Modi government had denied permission to Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal to visit Singapore to study the education system there, he pointed out. (PTI)
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