The Ministry of External Affairs has responded to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s fear mongering about ‘Singapore variant’ and said that the Delhi CM does not speak for India.
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.
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) May 19, 2021
On Tuesday, Kejriwal had taken to Twitter to claim that a new variant of Covid-19 was found in Singapore and appealed to Indian government to shut down flights to and from Singapore to not let the ‘new variant’ reach India.
The official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs revealed that the Singapore government had called the High Commission raising a strong objection to Kejriwal’s statement.
Embarrassing not just himself but even the nation, Union Cabinet Minister Dr S Jaishankar too had to issue a clarification on Kejriwal’s unwarranted statement.
“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,” Jaishankar said in a Tweet.
However, irresponsible comments from those who should know better can damage long-standing partnerships.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 19, 2021
So, let me clarify- Delhi CM does not speak for India.
Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan too took to Twitter to suggest that politicians should stick to facts and slammed Kejriwal’s statement reiterating that there is “no Singapore variant.”
Politicians should stick to facts!
— Vivian Balakrishnan (@VivianBala) May 19, 2021
There is no “Singapore variant”. https://t.co/SNJaF7wkwC https://t.co/pNgw4bkV4H
In fact, the B.1617 variant of the virus was first found in India and has since spread to many countries including Singapore.
The callous attitude and ignorance by the Chief Minister has embarrassed the nation on a global platform.
Arvind Kejriwal’s tweet came at a time when India was recovering from a devastating second wave of the pandemic that has resulted in a large number of deaths compared to the first wave that ravaged the country last year. In fact, to fight the second wave, Singapore has sent medical aid including oxygen to help fight the oxygen crisis at home.
