In a huge embarrassment to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Government of India on Wednesday publicly disowned his statement on the "Singapore variant" of Covid-19. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar went to the extent of terming the Delhi chief minister's statement as "irresponsible".
Arvind Kejriwal faced huge flak on Wednesday over his comments on the ‘Singapore variant’ of Covid-19. His remarks were rebutted by the governments of both India and Singapore.
The Delhi chief minister on Tuesday tweeted about a new Singapore variant of Covid-19 claiming it was ‘very dangerous', especially for the kids. He had requested the central government to disallow flights from Singapore in view of possible dangers from the new variant of the coronavirus.
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However, his tweet got a scathing reply by Singapore Foreign Minster Balakrishna who said ‘Politicians should stick to facts!’ There is no “Singapore variant”.
On Wednesday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted that the Indian High Commissioner was called by the Singapore government to convey strong objection to the Delhi Chief Minister's remark on the "Singapore variant" of Covid-19.
"Singapore Government called in our High Commissioner today to convey strong objection to Delhi CM's tweet on "Singapore variant". High Commissioner clarified that Delhi CM had no competence to pronounce on Covid variants or civil aviation policy," he tweeted.
After Arindam's tweet, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar slammed Arvind Kejriwal over his remarks, adding the “Delhi CM does not speak for India”. He even called Kejriwal’s comments ‘irresponsible’ and pointed out that it could damage long-standing partnerships between the two countries.
However, irresponsible comments from those who should know better can damage long-standing partnerships.
So, let me clarify- Delhi CM does not speak for India.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 19, 2021Advertisement
"Singapore and India have been solid partners in the fight against Covid-19. Appreciate Singapore's role as a logistics hub and oxygen supplier. Their gesture of deploying military aircraft to help us speaks of our exceptional relationship, "Jaishankar tweeted while responding to Arindam's tweet.
"However, irresponsible comments from those who should know better can damage long-standing partnerships. So, let me clarify- Delhi CM does not speak for India," he added.
