Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on Monday, 18 July, spoke out against a delay in approval ahead of his planned visit to Singapore to participate in the World Cities Summit (WCS).
Emphasising on his position as an elected MLA, Kejriwal told news agency ANI, "I don't understand why I am being stopped (from going to World Cities Summit)."
He added:
"The Singapore government has called me to tell them about the Delhi model- growth of services in health schools. This will promote the country on an international level."Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
The summit is set to take place between 31 July and 3 August, and will see leaders from around the world sharing best practices and ideas for cities to become more sustainable and liveable.
"I am not a criminal, I am a chief minister and a free citizen of the country. There was no legal basis to stop me from visiting Singapore so there appears to be a political reason behind this," the Delhi CM said.
Kejriwal's Letter to PM Modi
In a letter to the prime minister on Sunday, he said that it is "against national interest" to stop a chief minister "from visiting such a huge stage."
Explaining the importance of this, he wrote that the former United States President Donald Trump had said that the entire world should witness Delhi's education system. The United Nations, too, had appreciated the 'Mohalla Clinics' in the city.
He also pointed out that when Modi was Gujarat's chief minister and the US had declined to give him an education visa, the entire country had stood by him.
AAP also raised this issue at the all-party meeting held ahead of Parliament's Monsoon Session. The meet, convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, was held on Sunday.
In 2019, the Union government had denied approval to Kejriwal for a similar visit. It had claimed that it was "unbecoming of a chief minister" to participate in a meeting for mayors. Thereafter, Kejriwal addressed the meet online
(With inputs from ANI.)
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