E-Paper
MEA confirms portal entry for political clearance after Delhi L-G rejects Kejriwal's proposal for Singapore visit
As per the rules by the Centre, requests for political approval have to be first sent to the MEA and then to the home ministry for FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) clearance, after which it is sent to the cabinet secretariat for informing about the proposed travel.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) on Thursday said a request for political clearance for Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's visit to Singapore was received. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the "entry" for the clearance was made on the ministry's dedicated online portal that receives such requests.
At a press briefing, Bagchi was asked if Kejriwal can indeed attend the overseas summit. To this, he replied, “How can I say if he can go or not?”
“I can only say that until today no entries were made for political clearances. We (external affairs ministry) have an online portal for political clearances and over there, an entry has been made today for the purpose. This is the most information I have at this point,” Bagchi said.
Kejriwal is planning to visit Singapore to attend the "World Cities Summit" in early August. Last Sunday, Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking permission to attend the summit. Lieutenant governor VK Saxena has rejected the AAP government's request for Kejriwal's travel to Singapore, saying his attendance at the mayors' conference will set a "bad precedent".
Soon after, Kejriwal slammed the L-G's rejection saying that the event is not mayor-only, and it is a “matter of great pride for every patriotic Indian” that the CM was invited to present the “Delhi model before the city leaders from the whole world”.
“If the visit of each constitutional authority in our country were to be decided on the basis of what subjects fall within the jurisdiction of that authority…then the prime minister would not be able to go anywhere because (in) most of his visits, he also discusses subjects which fall in state list and do not fall in his jurisdiction. Then no CM would ever be able to make any visit anywhere in the world,” Kejriwal said in a statement.
The chief minister further stated that he will go ahead with his visit and apply for a “political clearance from the central government”.
According to the rules laid down by the Centre, requests for political consent have to be first sent to the MEA and later to the home ministry for FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) clearance, after which it is sent to the cabinet secretariat for informing about the proposed travel.
However, Kejriwal's office had sent the file for his Singapore visit to L-G Saxena first for his nod.
