Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia will not accompany United States First Lady Melania Trump to a government school in the national Capital during President Donald Trump’s two-day trip to India next week, The Indian Express reported on Saturday. The Trumps will be in Ahmedabad and New Delhi on February 24 and 25.
On Tuesday, Melania Trump is expected to attend a class on the “happiness curriculum” – a flagship scheme of the Delhi government that was introduced by Sisodia in July 2018 – at a school in South Delhi. The curriculum focuses on the mental health of children, and involves 40 minutes of meditation, and other relaxing and outdoor activities.
“The chief minister and deputy chief minister have been dropped from the list of people who will be present at the school when Melania Trump visits,” an unidentified official told the newspaper. According to the original schedule of the hour-long event, Kejriwal and Sisodia were expected to welcome Melania Trump at the school, NDTV reported.
The Narendra Modi government’s decision to include the Aam Aadmi Party’s flagship scheme in the Trumps’ programme comes weeks after the Bharatiya Janata Party claimed during the Delhi Assembly election campaign that public schools in the national Capital were in poor condition.
In 2018, the education ministers of Afghanistan and UAE, along with officials from several other Asian countries, had attended a happiness class in a school in Central Delhi.
Trump will land in Ahmedabad around noon on February 24 and attend an event at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, which is the world’s biggest cricket stadium. The US president will address the event along with Modi.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!