Kejriwal seeks MEA nod, rules silent on CM travelling abroad sans permission

NEW DELHI: As the Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena rejected Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s proposal to visit Singapore, the CM office applied for e-political clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday.

Some reports suggested that the move was necessitated as the clearance from MEA id mandatory for all chief ministers in India to travel abroad. Confirming the CM’s request for clearance, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the “entry” for the clearance was made on the ministry’s dedicated online portal that receives such requests.

Meanwhile, a new controversy brewed as the Delhi CM said that he would go ahead with the visit in case the MEA clearance is denied to him, and that if he does so, what action could be warranted against him. Observers keeping watch on the development said that though it’s not illegal to travel without permission, there seems no clarity about rules whether he could be prevented from visiting Singapore or not.

Earlier in May this year, Rahul Gandhi had courted controversy when he travelled to Cambridge in the UK as the ruling party alleged that he refused to take political clearance. The Congress had retorted saying that no such permission was needed. Political clearance from the MEA is also required for government officials seeking to go overseas, even if it is for a personal trip.

The MEA gets hundreds of requests for political clearance every month from ministries, secretaries, bureaucrats and other officials. The decision to give a political clearance is taken based on multiple factors such as the nature of the event, the level of participation from other countries, the kind of invitation that has been extended, and also India’s relations with the host country.