|
Sukhbir leaves for foreign tour
without informing MEA
WSN
Network
Chandigarh:
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president
Sukhbir Singh Badal functions a la former Congress CM Amarinder
Singh, be it a lack of conviction about democratic norms, or cocking
a snook at the law. Now, it emerges that both have a yen for taking
off for undisclosed foreign shores.
All ministers of
the government are supposed to take prior permission of the Ministry
of External Affairs (MEA) before going abroad, chiefly due to
security concerns. The MEA is even empowered to deny permission,
though it rarely does so. Sukhbir, however, did not find it
important to intimate the MEA, though his party had been highly
critical of Amarinder’s flying abroad without permission from the
Centre.
For Sukhbir, who
left for an undisclosed destination with his family a couple of days
ago, this is his third foreign visit this year. While he had
intimated the MEA on the two earlier visits, this time the state
Government sent the intimation, without mentioning the country or
countries he would be visiting, only after he had left.
“The Government
only said he was going abroad on a private visit and will bear the
expenses. According to rules, the VVIP visiting abroad should give
the entire itinerary to the ministry well in advance so that the
latter can coordinate and make arrangements and get back to the
state Government,” said an official.
Sukbir's office
had sent a letter to the Chief Minister's Office about his visit
shortly before he left. The CM cleared the letter and it was sent to
the chief secretary who then forwarded it to the MEA, but by that
time Sukhbir had left. He has reportedly gone to Europe, after a
stopover in Dubai.
The MEA had not
given ex post facto permission to the then public relations and
public health minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia for his visit to
Dubai from October 25 to 30, 2007. Punjab Speaker Nirmal Singh
Kahlon, too, was denied ex post facto permission for his visit
abroad.
The only time
when the MEA granted ex post facto permission was when Amarinder
Singh went to Dubai as CM without intimating the ministry. At that
time, Natwar Singh, the former CM's relative, was the external
affairs minister.
7
October 2009
|
Read Also