By stopping Kejriwal from attending climate meet, the govt stokes hostilities with the Opposition
There can be no politics about climate change simply because it is a shared concern and all stakeholders gain by exchanging notes and learning from each other. There must be joint ownership of responsibility on matters related to environment instead of exclusive authorship of ideas. Because what matters in climate politics is an implementable solution for everybody and that alone is the grand prize, not the face behind it. Therefore, it has been rather a messy and churlish move of the Centre, which anyway is a key global player and initiator in sustainable development, to deny a certain citizen visa for attending the C-40 Climate Summit in Denmark and share his learnings. Did the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) refuse clearance to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal simply because he represents the Opposition and, therefore, not entitled to detail his experiences of managing the most toxic city in the world? Does it mean that other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, nobody has the right to address global fora on matters Indian? Or does it mean that the Government doesn’t want acknowledgement for Opposition leaders who did good, simply because they are rivals at home? Of course, the current regime has made it known that it is intolerant of federalism but to stretch it this far, arguing that Kejriwal was too senior to attend the meeting, really makes it look insecure and not worth the confidence a landslide electoral victory gives. Besides, in a digital age, its intransigence only falls flat as Kejriwal will now address C-40 through a video conference. Unlike the official claim of protocol issues, C-40 is actually open to leaders of all shades, innovators and policy-makers. It is a group of the world’s largest cities that is committed to tackling climate change and Kejriwal was to present his set of initiatives that led to a 25 per cent reduction in air pollution.
Apparently the mandarins have either had collective amnesia or are ill-informed. In 2007, the then Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had attended the C-40 summit. This is not the first time that the Centre has denied permission to the leader of a rival political party to go abroad and showcase the work done by his/her Government. Recently, Kejriwal’s deputy Manish Sisodia could barely make it to speak on educational reforms in Russia. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also had run-ins with the MEA over her visits to China and Chicago. Clearly, the ruling BJP is scared that the C-40 could be used to highlight Kejriwal’s performance before the Assembly elections. No doubt his Government has the electoral edge, courtesy its track record on school education, mohalla clinics and air pollution. So by allowing a controversy to brew, only the BJP stands to lose.
