No, Minister, you may not travel abroad: PMO

According to a detailed disclosure by the PMO, in response to an application filed under the Right to Information Act by The Sunday Express, the curb on foreign trips “is part of the overall economy/expenditure management measures adopted by the Government from time to time.” But a scrutiny of the list shows that the most common reason for turning down the request (see chart on next page) is that Parliament is on and the Minister can’t skip the session.

Chowdhury ran into trouble with the PMO almost as soon as the UPA Government was formed. For her request for a visit to London in September 2004, the PMO noted that her proposed trip was ahead of the Prime Minister’s own tour and that the High Commission “would be busy.”

The most recent occasion her request was turned down was in January 2006 when she was disallowed from making an official visit to the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland. The PMO’s justification: “Minister may decline the invitation as a delegation has already been approved.”

There are several other Ministers who have similarly been snubbed by the PMO — on more than one occasion. Mani Shankar Aiyer, Minister for Panchayati Raj, Youth Affairs and Sports; Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi (as Minister for Water Resources) and Vilas Muttemwar, as Minister of State for Non-Conventional Energy, twice received a “No” from the PMO for their proposed foreign trips.

Other Ministers whose proposals were turned down “in view of Parliament session” are Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar; Kapil Sibal, (as Minister of State for Science and Technology); Kumari Shelja (as Minister of State for Urban Employment); Subodh Kant Sahay (Minister of State for Food Processing); A Raja, (as Minister for Environment and Forests); EVKS Elangovan, (as Minister for Commerce and Industry); Namo Narain Meena, (Minister of State for Environment);...