Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will most likely not address the C-40 climate summit in Denmark. The Ministry of External Affairs under the Narendra Modi government did not give clearance for his visit. But the foreign ministry allowed West Bengal mayor Firhad Hakim to attend the four-day summit beginning Wednesday.
ThePrint asks: Arvind Kejriwal’s Denmark trip not okayed: Should Central govt veto CMs’ foreign travels?
Centre’s responsibility to maintain foreign relations so it must decide whether CMs can travel abroad
Senior BJP leader
The first and foremost thing we need to understand is that maintaining cordial relations with other countries is crucial for any nation as this is exactly what comprises the diplomatic equation between the two countries. The responsibility of establishing and balancing this equation lies with the central government.
Therefore, the Centre needs to and must have a say in sanctioning foreign travel of chief ministers. This is a matter of national interest and cannot be taken lightly. It also must be understood that this is a continuous and ceaseless decision that every central government in India takes, irrespective of which party forms the government.
The reason for denying permission to a state-level leader for foreign travel is always looked into and analysed before making a final judgement. The reasons could depend on the strategic inputs received, which could have possibly dissuaded the Centre from granting permission. This entire concern needs to be analysed on a case-by-case basis where the facts must be ascertained to decide the merits.
Also read: Ahead of Delhi polls, BJP & AAP both take credit for reduced air pollution level in city
Modi govt is insulting people’s mandate to AAP by denying CM Kejriwal permission to travel abroad
Member, Aam Aadmi Party
The central government getting to decide on chief ministers’ foreign travels clearly shows that a power game is at play. I do not think the Centre should be able to veto the requests of elected leaders. It seems as though the Narendra Modi government takes decisions as per its whims and fancies.
There are serious transparency and integrity issues if the Centre does not provide the reason for denying travel permission. The central government needs to clearly tell why has it rejected Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s request to travel to Denmark for the climate summit.
It almost seems as though the Narendra Modi-led central government is scared of the popularity of state-level political leaders. In November 2018, it had similarly denied permission to Delhi’s deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia from travelling to Austria. By disallowing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from attending the climate summit in Denmark, the Modi government is also insulting the judgment of the people of Delhi and also disrespecting the mandate that the AAP government had got. This is a very regressive move; it seems like we are moving backwards instead of moving forward.
Also read: Why Kejriwal has dropped Modi-baiter avatar to become champion of Delhi’s development
Centre must fulfil its responsibility of giving reasons for refusing travel permission to the CM
Advocate, Supreme Court
The central government having a say in chief ministers’ travel abroad is not really problematic. The government, after all, needs to ensure there is a consistency in and consensus on foreign policy with respect to the country’s position when these state-level leaders go abroad on official visits. At the end of the day, these leaders too are representing India.
The point of concern that needs to be paid attention to is the arbitrary exercise of power where the Centre denies permission to one leader without providing a reason. The central government needs to fulfil its responsibility and maintain transparency in such matters.
What we also must keep in mind is that all these state leaders are constitutional
functionaries who take office under the oath of Constitution. Therefore, in
normal circumstances, permission should be granted to chief ministers for foreign travel, unless of course there are extraordinary reasons for which the Union government is denying permission.
Money is spent from central govt’s purse so there should be a justification to sanction a foreign trip
Former foreign secretary and Executive council member, VIF
The central government needs to have adequate oversight over foreign visits – and not only of chief ministers but also of central ministers. Foreign policy in India’s federal system falls within the jurisdiction of the Centre not the states.
Many considerations have to be taken into account before a foreign trip by a Chief Minister is authorised. One, the state of our bilateral relations with the country to be visited. Two, the kind of signal that we want to send because of our overall state of ties with that country. Three, the leader in that country who has sent the invite.
Four, whether a suitable programme has been arranged locally in the host country. Five, whether anything worthwhile will emerge from the visit. Six, whether India’s ambassador to that country favours the visit? Seven, whether there have already been too many visits to that country and if there should be a gap? Eight, whether an invitation has been manipulated to turn it into a pleasurable trip?
Sometimes Indian communities living abroad invite a chief minister for a community function, with no official work in view. After all, the money being spent is from the central government’s purse, so there should be a justification for sanctioning a foreign trip.
Of course, the central government should not outrightly reject an opposition leader’s foreign visit. The invitation to Kejriwal showed politics was at play at the organiser‘s end. He has engaged in excessive self-promotion of his work on cleaning Delhi’s air. The invitation was to allow him to do grandstanding in Denmark. It was a political invitation and has been rejected politically.
In principle, the central government has the right to veto a chief minister’s foreign visit.
Disallowing a CM from visiting abroad undermines position of state govts & hurts national interest
Head of Research, Takshashila Institution
Constitutionally, the subject of ‘foreign affairs’ falls under the domain of the central government. Hence, it will definitely have a say in the dealings of state governments with foreign entities. However, as a principle, it is in India’s interest that the central government lets state governments play a bigger role in taking foreign policy initiatives, particularly the ones concerning economic diplomacy.
This is because quite a few states have become primary movers on the economic diplomacy front through direct involvement with national and sub-national governments across the world. Global Investment Summits organised by various state governments are now commonplace. Even some traditionally laggard states have jumped on this bandwagon. For instance, then-Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had visited the US in August 2016 and pitched his state’s investment-friendly environment to companies there.
Such a non-unitary approach will help increase the number of favourable stakeholders in bilateral relationships, making them resilient to strategic considerations that can otherwise bog down India’s central government. Hence, disallowing Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal from visiting a climate summit undermines the position of state governments, and in turn, hurts India’s national interest.
By Revathi Krishnan, journalist at ThePrint