Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Opens Up On Refusal To Political Clearance For His Singapore Visit

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said he doesn't blame anyone after Delhi Lt Governor rejected the request for political clearance for his travel to Singapore, saying his attendance will set a "bad precedent".

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday responded to the row over his Singapore visit to attend 'World Cities' Summit', saying he would have liked to share with the world the work being done in India. He said he didn't blame anyone for his inability to visit the summit as the Delhi Chief Minister did not get a political clearance for the visit.

"It would have been good if I could go and put forward my point and share with the world the work being done in India... I am not blaming anyone for it," Arvind Kejriwal said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

Notably, he also said that he will attend the meeting with Delhi LG at 4 pm today.

The Chief Minister made the comment after attending the closing ceremony of Delhi government's 'Happiness Utsav' event at Thyagaraj Stadium in the national capital.

Last month, High Commissioner of Singapore, Simon Wong, invited Kejriwal to the World Cities Summit.

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena rejected the AAP government's request for Kejriwal's travel to Singapore, saying his attendance at the mayors' conference will set a "bad precedent".

He advised CM Kejriwal to not attend the World Cities Summit in Singapore next month since it is a conference of mayors and won't be befitting for a Chief Minister to attend it.

Previously, Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking permission to attend the summit.

The Delhi government alleged that the Centre's intention was to stop him from speaking at an international forum about the world-class works done in Delhi in health, education, and other fields.

About Lieutenant Governor Saxena's response, the AAP stated: "Not only was there too much delay, the last date of July 20 for completing the formalities of the visit has also passed."

As the Chief Minister is unable to go and the Centre is to be blamed, it added.

On the other hand, the Ministry of External Affairs Thursday said it had received a request last week for political clearance for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's visit to Singapore but it is given to understand that the host government has shared certain updates and changes in its invitation with the Delhi government, news agency PTI reported.

Asked about Delhi Chief Minister's political clearance request, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "As we conveyed last week, we received an entry on our political clearance portal on July 21." "Given to understand that the host government Singapore has shared certain updates and changes to its invitation with the Delhi government. I would request you to check with the Delhi government on what is the status of that," he added.

The AAP government in Delhi said that the refusal to grant political clearance caused humiliation to the country and the city.

(With Agency Inputs)