After Delhi L-G rejection, Kejriwal seeks MEA nod to attend Singapore Summit

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday received a plea on its online portal seeking its nod to a proposed visit by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to Singapore to take part in World Cities Summit.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, said that the ministry had not received till Wednesday any request for political clearance to the proposed visit by the chief minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi to Singapore.

He, however, added that an entry on the MEA’s designated online portal for seeking political clearance for foreign visits had been received on Thursday and the ministry would take a call on it soon.

He acknowledged receipt of the entry on the portal on a day Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the government of the National Capital Territory would now directly approach the MEA to seek political clearance for the chief minister’s visit to Singapore.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena advised Kejriwal not to attend the summit in Singapore as the conference would be covering different aspects of urban governance, addressed by diverse bodies like the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Delhi Development Authority, apart from the city government.

Saxena advised Kejriwal not to go to Singapore since it would be a conference of mayors and it would not be befitting for a chief minister to attend it, official sources said on Thursday.

Kejriwal recently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, complaining about the delay on part of the Union government in granting him approval for his proposed visit to Singapore and speak about the Delhi Model of Governance with a particular focus on improvement in healthcare services in the national capital territory.

He also publicly criticised the Union government for stopping a chief minister from visiting a foreign city to attend an event.