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DCW chief blames MEA for not clearing her file to speak at Harvard University, says things would have been different had former EAM been there
It’s been four years since Sushma Swaraj left for her heavenly abode, yet her popularity remains the same, cutting across the great political divide.
On February 10, it was firebrand Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal who remembered the late External Affairs Minister (EAM) as she blamed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for not allowing her to go to Harvard University to speak at their annual conference on February 11.
Maliwal alleged that as soon as she received the invitation, the file was sent to the Delhi government on January 16. From there, the file was sent to Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s office on January 18.
Maliwal said the Delhi Lt Governor’s office gave permission for travel only on February 8 but asked Maliwal to seek permission from the MEA.
The file was then sent to the ministry for political clearance, but Maliwal claimed that she neither received any response from the MEA nor received any response to her phone calls or emails.
Expressing her displeasure, Maliwal stated that she missed the working style of former EAM Swaraj, who passed away in 2019 following a heart attack.
Maliwal took to Twitter and wrote that she (the late Sushma Swaraj) considered every Indian as her family, and she considered Maliwal like her own daughter.
सुषमा स्वराज जी बहुत याद आ रही है। विदेश मंत्री रहते हुए उनने 135 करोड़ भारतीयों को परिवार माना और सबके एक ट्वीट पे मदद करती थीं। मुझे बेटी जैसा मानतीं थीं। दुख है विदेश मंत्रालय मेरी Harvard में बोलने की फाइल रोक के बैठा है। मेरे साथ ऐसा हो रहा है तो आम जनता का क्या होता होगा… pic.twitter.com/q0lizFxy2L
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) February 10, 2023
“It is sad that today’s Ministry of External Affairs is sitting on her file and is refusing to approve or reject the same. Had Sushma ji been there, this would never have happened,” she said.
Maliwal also said, “Sushma ji used to help Indians sitting abroad on a tweet, today I have a chance to speak at the prestigious Harvard University, but the Ministry of External Affairs is not clearing my file. Why so?”
She further said the DCW office has tried several times to contact the MEA through phone and email, but there has been no response from the Ministry.
About 10 days ago, Maliwal was not given permission by MEA to speak at the Strong Cities Summit organised in Dubai. “Even after following up continuously, the Ministry of External Affairs did not give permission in time,” she alleged.
Terming it “red-tapism” and the “lax attitude” of the MEA, Maliwal stated that if the Ministry takes so much time to sign the files of the people holding constitutional posts, then what would be the fate of the common man? In the coming days, DCW is thinking of taking this matter to court as well, she said.
