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| Did Azad travel to China on stapled visa? | | | ABID SHAH
NEW DELHI, NOV 13: Even as China-bound residents of Jammu and Kashmir have been and are still being turned back from airport because of having been issued ‘phony’ Chinese visa on a mere sheet of paper, the high and mighty from the same State could easily fly to Beijing and merrily come back after attending a conference.
Exactly, this has been the case with Union Minister for Heath and Family Welfare, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad. He not only hails from Jammu and Kashmir but held the top post of Chief Minister of the State until just about a year ago.
Amid the hard stance taken by New Delhi because of Chinese Embassy’s reluctance to affix and stamp visa on the Indian Passports of visitors hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, including outstanding students and distinguished professors from the State, Mr Azad visited China and addressed an international conference in Beijing.
The Minister was in the Chinese Capital until as late as October 18 this year, applauding China for making exceptionally excellent arrangements for the conference of Asia and Pacific countries on reproductive and sexual health rights of the people of the region. This, notwithstanding, the fact that India had first protested over the new Chinese way to issue just detachable visa printouts to J&K residents on as early as October 1, 2009 after reports that some students from the border State were turned back home by immigration authorities from Delhi airport in the wake of the detection of the visa discrepancy.
Strangely, it is not yet known what sort of visa was given by the Chinese mission in Delhi to Mr Azad when he visited Beijing. Was it a mere unfixed and unstamped printout as is the case with the documents issued by Chinese Embassy to lesser mortals from J&K?
Efforts to find an answer to such questions, however, did not succeed. Both Mr Azad and his Secretary, Mr SK Rao, were reported to be busy in a meeting. Calls at the Minister’s office and residence were answered politely only to say that one cannot expect them to come out of the meeting to answer any query.
Attempt to elicit information in this regard from the protocol officer of the Ministry of Health since in Minister’s case travel arrangements are supposed to be overseen by him too did not bring any result. Mr Azad’s office said that the officer had left for the day.
Yet those who know the norms about Cabinet Minister’s travel whether in official, or personal capacity to other countries say that VVIPs like Mr Azad must have got red-coloured diplomatic passport (unlike ordinary citizens who have blue passport), giving them certain privileges while on a tour abroad.
But, nevertheless, a visa prior to the visit cannot be avoided in case of a country like China that normally does not follow an exemption of visa even in case of VVIP travelers from India. Thus, the sort of visa issued by the Chinese Embassy here to Mr Azad last month for his Beijing visit remains a mystery even as people from his home State have been turned back by authorities since before Mr Azad’s China visit. And after it this has been becoming a rule of sorts for the people of the border State.
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