Singapore foreign minister slams Arvind Kejriwal, asks him to 'stick to facts'

NEW DELHI: Singapore's foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Wednesday slammed Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for his tweet on a dangerous variant in Singapore, asking the activist-turned politician to "stick to facts."
"Politicians should stick to facts! There is no “Singapore variant”," Balakrishnan replied to Kejriwal on twitter, attaching a link which detailed the spread of the B.1.617 variant in Singapore.

The B.1.617 variant was first found in India and has since spread to many countries, including United Kingdom and Singapore.
Even S Jaishankar, India's foreign minister, tweeted a clarification on the matter, saying the Delhi CM "does not speak for India."
"Singapore and India have been solid partners in the fight against Covid-19. Appreciate Singapore's role as a logistics hub and oxygen supplier," said Jaishankar.
" Irresponsible comments from those who should know better can damage long-standing partnerships," said Jaishankar.

The Singaporean government also conveyed its "strong objection" to Indian High Commissioner on Delhi CM's assertion on Singapore variant.
"High Commissioner clarified that Delhi CM had no competence to pronounce on Covid variants or civil aviation policy," the MEA said.

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday said that there is no truth in the references in reports in a section of Indian media about the presence of a new variant of coronavirus in the country, adding that there is no "Singapore variant".
"The strain that is prevalent in many of the COVID-19 cases in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated in India. Phylogenetic testing has shown this B.1.617.2 variant to be associated with several clusters in Singapore," the statement said.
Kejriwal on Tuesday had cautioned Centre about a 'new Singapore COVID-19 variant' that can hurt children the most.
In a tweet, Kejriwal said, "The new COVID variant in Singapore is being said to be extremely dangerous for children, in India it may come as a third wave"
He appealed to the central government to suspend air services with Singapore and working out priority vaccination options for children.