Delhi CM clearance denied: AAP MP Sanjay Singh criticises the Centre

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh criticised the Centre on Tuesday, October 8, for not allowing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to participate in the C40 Climate Summit scheduled in Copenhagen, Denmark from October 9. The Delhi CM was supposed to take part in a session on carbon emission besides a keynote address. Singh alleged that the Narendra Modi-led Central government showed hostility towards the AAP regime in Delhi. Furthermore, he clarified the exact purpose of Kejriwal’s visit. He also revealed that the clearance was not received despite applying a month ago. 

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Kejriwal’s engagement in Copenhagen 

The Delhi CM was expected to meet the mayors of cities such as London, New York, Los Angeles and Berlin regarding issues pertaining to climate change. He was set to outline his government’s initiatives which included the Odd-Even scheme. Bilateral meetings with the mayors of Sydney, Johannesburg, and Rotterdam were also on the cards. Kejriwal sought permission in this regard from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as per standard protocol.

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‘Each case is different’ 

The MEA official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar declined to comment on the specific case of Kejriwal. At the same time, he noted that a decision on political clearance was based on multiple inputs. 

He stated, “Each case is different and should be seen separately. I may not be in a position to answer person-specific queries on political clearance. I can only share that a decision on a political clearance is based on multiple inputs and takes into account the nature of the event, the level of participation by other countries, type of invitation extended, etc.” 

Incidentally, other AAP ministers have faced similar treatment in the past. For instance, in 2018, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain were not permitted to travel abroad to Austria and Australia respectively.

Read: Delhi CM Kejriwal Denied Political Clearance For C40 Summit In Denmark