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On Singapore visit, Kejriwal says ‘not blaming anyone’; BJP leaders claims….
Arvind Kejriwal had claimed he was not allowed to go to Singapore for World Cities Summit.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had missed the July 20 application deadline for the Singapore visit, the BJP’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa claimed on Friday in a video he posted on Twitter. Kerjriwal’s Singapore visit had emerged as one of the many recent AAP vs BJP standoffs as the Delhi chief minister claimed that his visit was not cleared by the central government. Hours after Sirsa's claim, the Delhi CM - speaking to reporters - said he was not blaming anyone.
The international event - where global business and thought leaders are set to participate - will be held between July 31 and August 3.
Now in a video, the BJP’s Sirsa has claimed that the deadline was missed even before Kejriwal had approached the ministry of external affairs. “He already knew he could not apply. Then after applying to the MEA portal, he claimed that he was not being allowed to go. It’s a matter of great shame.”
“He said he was being invited to talk about the Delhi model. But similar invites had been sent to mayors of Gujarat and Pune. His lies have now been revealed.”
In the tweet in which he had posted his video, Sirsa wrote: “@ArvindKejriwal lies once again: Key documents and the letter shared by media shows Delhi CM missed the deadline for Visa paperwork and is deliberately blaming @LtGovDelhi for not allowing him to travel to Singapore. Kejriwal is nothing but drama and lies mixed together.”
While speaking to reporters, however, on Friday, the Delhi chief minister was quoted as saying by news agency ANI: “It would have been good if I could go and put forward my point and share with the world the work being done in India...I am not blaming anyone for it.”
Arvind Kejriwal had even written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the visit. “The invitation is a matter of pride for the country. Blocking a chief minister from attending such an event is against the interests of the country,” he had written.
Last week, however, Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena turned down the Delhi government's request.
(With inputs from ANI)
