On Thursday, the AAP government's proposal for chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to travel to Singapore for a summit on August 1 was rejected by Delhi's lieutenant governor (LG), VK Saxena.
The gathering is intended for mayors, and a CM's attendance is not appropriate, the LG claimed.
"The LG has pointed out that the conference will cover different aspects of urban governance which in the case of Delhi are addressed by diverse civic bodies ranging from New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) aside from the Delhi government. The LG has carefully examined the nature of the forum and the profile of other attendees, as well as the topics being discussed at the conference. A senior official from the LG's office who asked to remain anonymous said that the LG "has emphasised that the Delhi government does not have exclusive domain over the issues corresponding with the theme of the conference and therefore it will be inappropriate for a chief minister to be attending the same."