External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar had said that Arvind Kejriwal does not “speak for India” after Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan objected to Delhi Cheif Minister’s claim that highely infectious children variant came from Singapore.
Mr. Balakrishnan also stated that India and Singapore should “focus on resolving the situation”. “Nobody is safe until everyone is safe,” he said in a message posted on social media.
The Singapore High Commissioner praised the Indian response but maintained that Singapore “reserves” the right to implement the country’s online misinformation law “relating to assertions” from Mr. Kejriwal.
In another unusual diplomatic gesture, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that the Indian High Commissioner was summoned by the Singapore government on Wednesday “to convey strong objection to the Delhi CM’s tweet on the ‘Singapore variant’:“(Indian) High Commissioner clarified that Delhi CM had no competence to pronounce on COVID variants or civil aviation policy,” the MEA’s official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
“Politicians should stick to facts!” said Mr. Balakrishnan, a day after Mr. Kejrwal’s claim on infections targeting children being “from there”.
“There is no truth whatsoever in the assertions….There is no “Singapore variant”. The strain that is prevalent in many of the COVID-19 cases in recent weeks is 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,” said Singapore’s Ministry of Health in a statement issued on Tuesday.
“Singapore and India have been solid partners in the fight against COVID-19. Appreciate Singapore’s role as logistics hub and oxygen supplier. Their gesture of deploying military aircraft to help us speaks of our exceptional relationship. However, irresponsible comments from those who should know better can damage long-standing partnerships. So, let me clarify — the Delhi CM does not speak for India,” said Mr. Jaishankar after Singapore summoned the Indian envoy to protest Mr. Kejriwal’s remarks.
Union Minister’s comments is being apreciated widely and the High Commssioner of Singapore, Simon Wong is also satisfied with the offcial statement of the Indian government.
“In Singapore, we have Protection from Online Falsehoods & Manipulation Act (POFMA) to mitigate misinformation and we reserve the right to invoke POFMA relating to assertions made by the CM of Delhi. However, we are satisfied with the Government of India’s clarification,” Mr. Wong said.