Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were scheduled to welcome Melania Trump at the Delhi school.
Highlights
- US First Lady Melania Trump to visit Delhi government school on Tuesday
- Earlier, Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia were scheduled to welcome her
- AAP alleges it was centre's plan to drop their names from the event
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia will not be part of an event next week when US First Lady Melania Trump is likely to watch a "happiness class" at a Delhi government school, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sources said. Party sources alleged that Mr Kejriwal's and Mr Sisodia's names were dropped from the event by the central government.
According to the earlier plan, Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia, who were re-elected this month for the third time in Delhi after a huge election victory, were scheduled to welcome Melania Trump at the south Delhi government school. Ms Trump will visit the school as a special guest on Tuesday, the second day of US President Donald Trump's visit to India. She will also spend some time with the school children in an hour-long visit.
AAP alleged that it was the centre's plan to drop the two top Delhi leaders from the VVIP event.
It was Manish Sisodia who had introduced the "happiness curriculum" two years ago as an attempt to reduce stress among schoolchildren. It involves 40 minutes of meditation, relaxing and even outdoor activities.
"We have got a request from them (from the US embassy). We have told them that if they want to come, they are welcome. But I can't tell you details about the school," Mr Sisodia said on Saturday after he visited a Delhi government school in his constituency of Patparganj and met teachers and students.
The First Lady's solo visit will take place at a time when President Trump will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said.
The inclusion of a Delhi government school in the high-profile visit is interesting, given the ugly row during the election campaign in the capital over the BJP posting videos that they said "exposed" the poor state of schools managed by the Kejriwal government.
The Trumps will begin their two-day visit on Monday in Ahmedabad, the largest city in PM Modi's home state Gujarat. They will fly down to Delhi later that night.
President Trump and Melania Trump will attend a mega "Namaste, Trump" event at a newly-built cricket stadium in Ahmedabad - said to be the world's largest - and travel to Agra to see the Taj Mahal before reaching Delhi for the operative part of the visit.