Listen To This Post
Chandigarh: The Union government has denied political clearance to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and state Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora for a proposed visit to the United Kingdom and Israel in February aimed at attracting foreign investment, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said on Wednesday.
The party alleged that this was not the first instance of Mann being denied permission by the Centre for overseas travel in his official capacity.
According to AAP, the week-long visit was planned as part of Punjab’s investment outreach ahead of the upcoming investors’ summit. The proposed delegation was to include senior state government officers, with dates to be finalised following clearance.
“Chief Minister Mann and Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora were scheduled to travel to the UK and Israel in February. However, the Centre has denied political clearance to the delegation. No reason has been communicated to us,” said Punjab AAP General Secretary and party media in-charge Baltej Pannu.
Under existing protocol, senior political executives require political clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs for official foreign travel. Mann, who holds a diplomatic passport as the Chief Minister, was to engage with potential investors and industry leaders during the proposed visit as part of Punjab’s broader efforts to boost industrial inflows.
In December, Mann had led a state delegation as part of Punjab’s global outreach in the run-up to the Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit, scheduled to be held from March 13 to 15, 2026, in Mohali. The issue of denied clearances has surfaced earlier as well. In August 2024, Mann had claimed that the Centre refused him permission to travel to
