Chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s France visit has set off a political controversy in Punjab, with the Opposition alleging that he left for a foreign tour at a time when the state faces a grave drug crisis and the family of an anti-drug activist awaits justice.
Some opposition leaders also alleged Mann was taking his wife along on the trip to celebrate his birthday. Mann turned 53 on Saturday.
The tour is in connection with participation of the Punjab State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd. (MARKFED), the apex cooperative of the state, in the international food trade show, SIAL 2026, in Paris from October 17 to October 21. The MARKFED was allotted a stall in the India Pavilion by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) – a body under the Union ministry of commerce and industry.
Mann was to lead a delegation which would also comprise the chief secretary and the principal secretary to the chief minister.
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"An Evening in Paris. Punjab suffers in turmoil and the grieving family of martyr Jhota still awaits justice," Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia said.
Majithia was referring to the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in broad daylight inside a medical store at a busy market place in Mansa on October 13. Jhota was known for raising his voice against the illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops. Ashwani Kumar, the store owner who opened fire on Jhota after he questioned him for selling addictive drugs to an elderly man, was taken into custody from Salasar in Rajasthan.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tarun Chugh alleged Mann was going on a "family trip" to France to celebrate his birthday on the pretext of setting up the MARKFED stall when Punjab is reeling under heavy financial crisis.
Government employees are crying for dearness allowance and gangsters are ruining the state, but this "fun trip" of Bhagwant Mann is "making fun" of Punjab and its people, he alleged.
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He also hit out at the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the drug menace, saying: “At a time Punjab is burning in the fire of drug abuse, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is heading for France with his wife to celebrate his birthday instead of addressing the suffering of the people.”
He added: "The chief minister's conduct amid such a grave crisis raises serious questions about the government's priorities and its sensitivity towards the people of Punjab.”
Punjab is gripped by fear and insecurity, yet the chief minister appears more concerned about his foreign trip than confronting this crisis, he said.
He also alleged that a birthday celebration is being projected as an official government tour.
"What kind of official delegation includes the chief minister's wife? What is the justification for her participation?" he asked.
Chugh said taxpayers' money must not be used to finance private celebrations or family leisure trips.
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Former Union minister and BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu posted on X: “Paris Official Visit or Birthday Vacation?”
He continued: "Bhagwant Mann's birthday trip to Paris -- in whose name, and at whose expense," he asked. "Punjab's treasury is not a family holiday fund! Bhagwant Mann must disclose the purpose, expenses and official invitation.”
There was no immediate reaction either from the chief minister or the AAP at the time of filing this report.
On Friday, the Punjab and Haryana high court allowed the Punjab government's plea challenging the Centre's decision to deny political clearance for Mann for his visit to France.
The Punjab government moved the court, saying the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)'s decision was "arbitrary" and sought the decision to be quashed.
The high court questioned the Centre’s decision to deny the clearance, observing that a “political angle” cited as the reason for the denial had not been explained.
“It has not been explained what that political angle/viewpoint is, and whether political clearance means examining the application from a political angle. No reasons are forthcoming,” the high court remarked. Taking note of a September 22 communication from the event organiser, the court also did not find substance in the Centre’s argument that there was lack of a proper invitation from the French government.