Bihar : RJD MP Manoj Jha wants to visit Pakistan, Central Government did not approve

The Central Government has refused to give political nod to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha’s visit to Pakistan. Manoj Jha wanted to go to Lahore this month via the Attari-Wagah border. There he was to participate in a program organized in the memory of human rights activist Asma Jehangir. But they were not approved by the Centre. In such a situation, his proposed Pak visit has been cancelled. The RJD MP himself has confirmed this.

MP Manoj Jha said that the central government has refused to give “political approval” to his proposed visit to Pakistan. He was to deliver an address on the topic ‘Role of Political Parties in Defense of Democratic Rights’ at an event organized in the memory of Asma Jahangir in Lahore on 23 October. This visit would have given him an opportunity to underline the great tradition of Indian political parties in the fight for the democratic rights of the people. Jha said that Asma Jehangir was an activist fighting for the rights of minorities in Pakistan. He passed away in the year 2018.

Manoj Jha says that he got approval related to Foreign Grants (Regulation) Act from the Ministry of Home Affairs to visit Pakistan, but the Ministry of External Affairs did not give him political approval. This would have given him an opportunity to explain on behalf of the Indian Parliament how we fight for the democratic rights of the people on the streets and in Parliament. Jha said he had planned to travel to Pakistan via the Wagah border on October 20 and return on October 24.