Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced that he would go ahead with his Singapore trip and applied for political clearance from the external affairs ministry after lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena advised him against participating in the Eighth World Cities Summit and the associated WCS Mayors Forum 2022.

External affairs ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi confirmed in the evening that an “entry” seeking political clearance for the visit had been made on the designated portal but did not comment further.

Should Kejriwal try to head for Singapore without political clearance, he can be stopped by immigration authorities at the airport, home ministry sources said.

Kejriwal had written to the lieutenant governor seeking administrative clearance for the visit but Saxena had replied that the summit was essentially for mayors of cities.

“The subjects that are being deliberated in this conference cover different aspects of urban governance, which in the case of Delhi are addressed by diverse bodies ranging from the NDMC, MCD and the DDA in addition to the GNCTD,” Saxena had said while maintaining that “it is not advisable for a chief minister to be attending such a conference”.

Kejriwal, who has been invited by the Singapore government, differed, stating that it was not just a mayors’ conference but a meeting of city leaders and knowledge experts. “The Singapore government has chosen to invite the CM of Delhi. It’s a matter of great pride that the Delhi model of governance… is being discussed and recognised the world over,” Kejriwal said.

He argued that if the visit of every constitutional authority in the country is to be decided on the basis of the subjects that fall within their jurisdiction, then “the Prime Minister would not be able to go anywhere because in most of his visits, he also discusses subjects which fall in the state list and do not fall in his jurisdiction”.

Kejriwal had sent his proposal to the LG for attending the conference from July 31 to August 3, and for further stay in Singapore from August 4 to 7.

In October 2019, Kejriwal had not been given political clearance to participate in a climate conference in Denmark. Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was not allowed to travel to Rome and a Kerala minister was barred from visiting China for a tourism meet.

In the UPA years, the Congress-led government had not permitted its own chief minister in Assam, Tarun Gogoi, from visiting the US and Israel in his official capacity.

The external affairs ministry, with the help of the mission in the host country, scrutinises the nature of the event, participation from other countries and the level of engagement, besides the status of bilateral relations, before deciding on political clearance. While the ministry does the spadework, much depends on a nod from the Prime Minister’s Office or the cabinet secretariat.

Apart from political clearance, Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) approval is also required as a government functionary can accept foreign hospitality only with prior permission of the Union government.