No objection to the presence of CM Kejriwal & Sisodia : US Embassy
NEW DELHI : The United States Embassy in New Delhi said on Sunday that, while, it had no objections whatsoever on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia being invited to the event scheduled to be attended by the US First Lady Melania Trump, it did’t want the government school event of the First Lady to be a ‘political event.’
“While the US embassy had no objection to the presence of the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister, we appreciate their recognition that this is not a political event and that it is best to ensure that the focus is on education, the school, and the students,” said a US Embassy spokesperson.
The US First Lady Melania Trump was expected to watch a “happiness class” at a Delhi government school during their two-day visit that begins tomorrow. AAP sources had said the names of Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia were dropped from the event by the Central government.
Mr Sisodia had handled the education portfolio and will continue to do so in the new term. It was he who had introduced the “happiness curriculum” two years ago as an attempt to reduce stress among schoolchildren. It involves 40 minutes of meditation, relaxing and even outdoor activities.
Melania is scheduled to experience a happiness class at a Delhi government school in Nanakpura. The Aam Aadmi Party had earlier accused the Centre of being behind the dropping of the names of Delhi’s CM and deputy CM from the list.
The clarification by the US Embassy came Sunday evening, around the same time when US President Donald Trump departed for India on his maiden visit, beginning Monday. During his 36-hour-long visit, Trump is slated to attend a massive event, Namaste Trump, at Ahmedabad’s Motera Stadium, billed as the world’s largest.
On Feb 25, Trump will visit Agra before boarding a flight to Delhi, where he will hold official engagements with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind.
The inclusion of a government school in the high-profile visit is interesting, given the ugly row ahead during the assembly election campaign, over the BJP posting videos that they said “exposed” the poor state of schools managed by the Kejriwal government.
