THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union Government on Wednesday said the denial of permission to state Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran to visit China was owing to protocol issues and the adverse report given by the Indian mission in that country.“When we give political clearance, we seek views of our missions abroad. If we find correct protocol arrangements are not being made and if a relevant person of that level is not meeting the minister, we will not allow that minister to go. We don’t want our people to be downgraded in the country they visit.
That’s the sole criterion we follow,” Minister of State For External Affairs V K Singh told reporters when asked about the denial of permission to Kadakampally. “The prestige of the country is at stake here and not that of the state alone,” he said. Asked about the minister’s statement that he was slated to meet the Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organisation, Singh said the information received by the Indian mission in China was not so. “We will purely go by what (information) comes from the mission,” he said.