Punjab Minister accuses Centre of denying him political clearance for foreign tour

He said that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy had cleared the delegation on September 14, 2022 but the Ministry of External Affairs did not follow suit

Punjab New and Renewable Energy Sources Minister Aman Arora alleged that the Central Government had denied political clearance for his knowledge exchange travel to Germany, Belgium and Netherlands.

Mr. Arora said the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India had cleared a list of the 13-member delegation including him on September 14, 2022, but the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had not followed suit.

The Cabinet Minister said that the tour was sponsored by the Indo-German Energy Forum. “Neither the Centre, nor the State government will have to bear any financial burden,” he said.

“This knowledge sharing tour from September 24 to October 2, 2022 was of much importance for planning and developing new and renewable energy resources in the State to meet future requirements besides ensuring a green and clean environment,” said Mr. Arora while adding that the Union Government’s unnecessary interference would be a threat to the federal structure of the nation.

He said the BJP was politically so insecure of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership that it had resorted to cheap tactics.