Arvind Kejriwal has suffered a setback after lieutenant governor (L-G) VK Saxena denied the Delhi government's request for his consent for the chief minister to travel to Singapore to attend a summit in August since it is a meeting of mayors, according to the L-G office on Thursday.
According to official sources published by news agency ANI, the L-G urged Kejriwal not to go to the World Cities Summit in Singapore because it is a meeting of mayors and his attendance would not be appropriate.
Kejriwal recently sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi protesting what he claimed was a delay in receiving approval for his planned trip to Singapore to attend the World Cities Summit (WCS) on August 1-2. He claimed that delaying a chief minister's planned attendance at such a significant event would be against the national interest.
Saxena has rejected the idea for Kejriwal to travel abroad, according to ANI, which also noted that the conference will cover several facets of urban governance that are dealt with by organisations other than the city government, such as the MCD, DDA, and NDMC.
The chief minister has referred to the delay as "wrong," a Delhi government official claims. "To demonstrate the Delhi model at the international summit, the Singaporean government has invited Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The official stated that it would be given to the world's leaders.
The L-G claimed that the Delhi government did not have sole authority over the issues and that a chief minister's attendance would be "inappropriate."