Received request online for political clearance: MEA on Delhi CM's proposed visit to Singapore

A request for political clearance for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's visit to Singapore was received by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday.

MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the ''entry'' for the clearance was made on the ministry's dedicated online portal that receives such requests.

''I was just informed that an entry has been made in the ministry's online portal. There is a system to request for political clearance,'' he said while replying to a question on the issue at his weekly media briefing. ''With respect to this visit, the entry was made today morning or afternoon,'' Bagchi said.

The Delhi chief minister plans 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.

Delhi Lt Governor V K 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''.

It is learnt that the MEA is unlikely to approve the political clearance as it is not approved by the competent authorities.

Last month, High Commissioner of Singapore, Simon Wong, invited Kejriwal for the World Cities Summit.