Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's Singapore visit canceled, AAP blames Centre
After days of wrangling between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and the Centre over permission for his visit to Singapore, the AAP's national convenor won't be going. The Delhi government released an official statement announcing that the procedures for the CM's Singapore visit were to be completed by July 20. However, the file was returned by the Centre's Lieutenant-Governor (LG) on July 21.
Why does this story matter?
Kejriwal was invited to attend the World Cities Summit, which will be held in Singapore during the first week of August to showcase the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Delhi model of governance, transforming the city's education and health sector. AAP asserts that since obtaining the requisite clearance from LG and the Center took so long, there was no time left to complete other formalities.
Delhi government accuses central government
The Delhi government issued a statement saying, "If CM Arvind Kejriwal isn't able to attend the World City Summit to be held in Singapore and because of this, the country along with Delhi has to be humiliated, then only the central government is responsible for it." "The file regarding permission for the visit....was sent to the Lieutenant Governor on June 7 itself," it stated.
Centre didn't want the CM to promote Delhi's work abroad
"The LG sat silent for about one-and-a-half months and returned the file on July 21. By then not only had there been....delays, but the deadline till July 20 to complete the...formalities....also passed," the statement further read. "It's clear....the intention of the central government was to prevent the CM from talking about the world-class work done in Delhi in the international arena," it added.
Centre hits back at AAP
According to central government sources, Singapore withdrew Arvind Kejriwal's invitation to the World Cities Summit. The Center insisted that an email confirmed the invitation's cancellation. As per the Centre, Singapore declined Kejriwal's invitation because of his late application. As per government sources, Kejriwal's invitation to Singapore was automatically canceled when he reportedly failed to accept it by the deadline of July 20, 2022.
Kejriwal requested permission to visit on July 21: Centre
The Centre further said that Kejriwal requested permission to visit Singapore from the Ministry of External Affairs on July 21, the day after the Singapore deadline had passed. It also said that Kejriwal's actions were merely a publicity stunt.
