Indian Punjab CM wants to attend Lahore moot

• Bhagwant Mann says World Punjabi Conference organisers invited him; doubts BJP-led government will let him visit • Speaker Sandhwan jokes, ‘If you get permission, take us along as well’ INDIAN Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed desire on Friday to attend the World Punjabi Conference in Lahore, claiming he had received an invitation, while taking a jab at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over whether it would allow him to visit Pakistan, according to a BBC report. The 4th International Punjabi Confer­e­nce is scheduled for Nov 27-29 in Lahore.

Mann made the remarks while addressing the Indian Punjab assembly. “They do not even let me go to France or Japan. How will they let me go to Pakistan? ” he said, in a jibe at the BJP-led government in Delhi. In a video posted on his official YouTube channel, Mann said many poets from Indian Punjab would travel to the conference. “I also want to go, because our roots are one, our problems are also similar,” he said. The CM mentioned the invitation after reciting verses by Pakistani Punjabi poet Tajammul Kaleem. He said he had spoken to Pakistani Punjabi poet, Baba Najmi and received the invitation, adding that people on both sides of the border shared a culture and should interact.…