AAP govt, Centre lock horns over I-Day event invite

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government and the Centre are at loggerheads again with the Union tourism ministry claiming the AAP government hasn’t confirmed its participation

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government and the Centre are at loggerheads again with the Union tourism ministry claiming the AAP government hasn’t confirmed its participation in the seven-day festival, ‘Bharat Parv’. The ministry is holding the event to mark Independence Day.

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On the other hand, the Delhi government alleges it was not invited. More than 30 states and union territories have agreed to participate in the event. The tourism ministry is the nodal agency for the event that will be inaugurated by defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday.

Apart from Delhi, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, West Bengal, and Bihar have not confirmed their participation in the event, said tourism secretary Vinod Zutshi. However, he said they might participate later as the festival would continue for a few days.

A list of participating states and UTs provided by the ministry does not mention the names of Bihar and West Bengal, besides the four UTs.

“It shows the narrow-mindedness of the Centre. They have not invited us to an Independence Day event. Though we have not been invited, I will attend it,” said Delhi culture minister Kapil Mishra.

“We were not approached. There is no communication. We would have loved to participate in such an event,” said Mishra.

Information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu and tourism minister Mahesh Sharma will also be present at the inauguration ceremony at 5pm on Friday.

Ar med forces bands will perform at the event. A multi-cuisine food court, craft mela and photo exhibition, Azadi 70 Saal-Yaad Karo Kurbani, will also be organised.