Delhi LG clears Manish Sisodia’s visit to US, spotlights a ‘contradiction’

Delhi LG VK Saxena’s approval to Manish Sisodia’s visit to address a convention in Portland city on March 24 comes amid a bitter back-and-forth between Raj Niwas and the city’s elected government over sending teachers to Finland for training

NEW DELHI: Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena has approved deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s visit to the United States to attend an education convention in March, a senior Raj Niwas official said on Friday, underlining that Saxena signed off on the visit despite “contradictory statements” on the foreign trip’s funding.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia have been sharply critical of Delhi LG VK Saxena holding back his approval to a plan to send government school teachers to Finland for training. (ANI FILE)

“LG has agreed in principle for the proposed visit, but it will be subject to requisite clearances and completion of other formalities,” a senior Raj Niwas official said on the proposal seeking the LG’s approval for Sisodia’s visit to the education convention in Portland city of Oregon along with his secretary and the education secretary.

According to the proposal, Sisodia was scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the TESOL Education Convention on 23 March in Portland where he is expected to speak about “restoring faith in the government school system”. The convention will be held between 21 and 24 March.

There was no immediate response to the development from Sisodia or the Delhi government.

The approval comes against the backdrop of a bitter battle between Raj Niwas and the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi over Manish Sisodia’s proposal to send a group of government school teachers to Finland for training. Sisodia sent the file again to Saxena’s office this week and asked him not to indulge in politics over such an “important and sensitive” issue.

The Raj Niwas official said the LG approved the proposal despite a contradiction in the proposal on funding for the foreign trip.

On file, the official said, the education department said that the organisers will bear the cost of the visit and there will be no financial liability on the state government but at the same time, the proposal also said that the expenses for the deputy chief minister’s visit will be borne by the Delhi government.

“Lieutenant Governor, despite noting that both the statements regarding the funding of the trip were contradictory to each other and it was not clear as to whether the Delhi Government will bear the expenses for Sisodia’s visit or not, gave in-principle approval for the proposed visit. The visit will be subject to the requisite clearances from the central government, including FCRA clearances, as is the case with every foreign visit undertaken by any minister or officer,” the official said.