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India’s External Affairs Minister: SG and India are “solid partners” and Delhi Chief Minister doesn’t speak for India

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It was reported that the Ministry of Health (MOH) issued a statement yesterday night (18 May) to swiftly rebut Indian media reports over comments made by Delhi Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister, Mr Arvind Kejriwal, claimed on his Twitter account yesterday that a new variant of COVID-19 found in Singapore is “very dangerous for children” and called on Modi’s government to immediately suspend air travels with Singapore. He warned that the variant can “come as a third wave” in India.

“A new variant of coronavirus found in Singapore is being said to be very dangerous for children. This can usher in the third wave (of COVID-19) in India,” he said. “I appeal to the Central government to immediately halt air services with Singapore.”

In response to the Delhi Chief Minister’s claims, MOH rebutted, “There is no truth whatsoever in the assertions found within the reports. 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,” it added.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan also tweeted in response to Mr Kejriwal’s comments, saying “Politicians should stick to facts! There is no “Singapore variant”.

India’s External Affairs Minister: Delhi Chief Minister does not speak for India

Following MOH’s rebuttal, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called in the Indian High Commissioner today (19 May) so as to covey Singapore’s strong objection to the “Singapore variant” claim made by Delhi Chief Minister yesterday.

The Indian High Commissioner clarified that Delhi Chief Minister has “no competence to pronounce on Covid variants or civil aviation policy”.

India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar also weighed in to criticise Delhi Chief Minister, saying that the Chief Minister “does not speak for India” and that “irresponsible comments from those who should know better can damage long-standing partnerships.”

Dr Jaishankar also added that Singapore and India have been “solid partners” in the fight against Covid-19 and that India appreciates Singapore’s role as a logistics hub and oxygen supplier.

“Their gesture of deploying military aircraft to help us speaks of our exceptional relationship,” he said.

Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, is from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). It currently runs the state government in Delhi, having held a supermajority in the Delhi Legislative Assembly since the 2015 election, limiting Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party to a few seats in the state assembly.

 

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