Centre denied permission to Chandrababu Singapore visit

The ministry of external affairs (MEA) has reportedly denied permission to Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu to visit Singapore on Wednesday night and pay his respects to the island nation’s founding President Lee Kuan Yew, who passed away at the age of 91 on Monday .

The state funeral for the departed Singapore leader is slated to be held on Sunday and India will be represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Since the PM is officially scheduled to attend the funeral on March 29, it will not be proper for another elected Indian leader to pay homage to the departed leader before that.Hence, the permission for Naidu to visit Singapore has been denied,“ said sources.

The AP chief minister had made preparations to take a special flight to Singapore from Hyderabad at 11 am (IST) on Wednesday . The plan was to pay his respects to Lee Kuan Yew on Thursday morning and fly back to Hyderabad the same day . The late leader’s body has been kept at the Singapore Parliament House for people to pay their respects ahead of the state funeral on Sunday .

Sources said that Naidu had prior commitments on Sunday , the day of the funeral, and hence, wanted to visit the island nation earlier. Following the MEA denying him permission to visit Singapore on Wednesday , the AP CM will now visit the island nation as part of the PM delegation on Sunday and attend the state funeral. As per rules, all elected leaders like CM, MPs and MLAs and those holding constitutional positions need to secure prior permission from the MEA for their visits abroad.

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