Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has told Delhi’s chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal that the conference in Singapore that he wants to attend is meant for mayors, and hence it is not advisable for a chief minister to attend the same. The Delhi government had submitted a file seeking approval from the LG for the chief minister’s Singapore visit in August to attend a summit.
In a written response to the request, LG Vinai Kumar Saxena said, “The proposal for the foreign visit of Shri Arvind Kejriwal, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi to Singapore to attend the Eighth World Cities Summit and WCS Mayors Forum 2022 from 31/07/2022 to 03/08/2022 and for further stay in Singapore from 04/08/2022 to 07/08/2022 has been perused in detail. Having studied the nature of the forum and the other attendees, it must be noted that on a prima facie basis this is a conference of Mayors of various cities.”
LG Vinai Kumar Saxena further said, “The subjects that are being deliberated in this conference cover different aspects of urban governance, which in the case of Delhi are addressed by diverse bodies ranging from the NDMC. MCD and DDA in addition to the GNCTD. The GNCTD does not have an exclusive domain over these issues corresponding with the theme of the conference. A WCS Smart Cities workshop is also being organized as a part of the Summit. In Delhi, the Smart Cities Project is being anchored by the NDMC. In such a contest, it is not advisable for a Chief Minister to be attending such a conference.”
However, Arvind Kejriwal wrote a letter and said that he disagrees with LG Vinai Kumar Saxena and that he will go ahead and attend the summit. According to a report by the Hindustan Times, Kejriwal wrote in his letter, “I humbly beg to differ with the advice of the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor. “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, it would create a funny situation and practical logjam. Then the Prime Minister would not be able to go anywhere because, in most of his visits, he also discusses subjects which fall in the state list and do not fall in his jurisdiction.”