Centre denies political clearance to Telangana CM Revanth Reddy for US visit

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has been denied permission by the Centre to visit the US, the CMO said on Friday (August 21). Elaborating further, the CMO statement said that the Ministry of External Affairs has denied the permission, citing denial of clearance from a “political angle.”

"The official Telangana Rising delegation led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has been forced to cancel their visit to the United States of America (USA) after the Ministry of External Affairs has denied permission, saying … clearance from political angle is denied," stated the CMO release.

Reddy, who is in London currently, has planned to visit the US and return to Hyderabad on August 30.

Reddy says visit focused on education

Reacting to the development, the Chief Minister said the visit was solely aimed at bringing the best education institutions to Telangana to cater to the aspirations of the youth.

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“The only purpose of the visit was to, as part of the New Education Policy if Centre, bring the world’s best institutions to India, to Telangana, to Hyderabad. They would have been an answer to our youth’s aspirations to get education, skills, and training from the best Ivy Leagues and top global institutions,” said Reddy as quoted by the Deccan Chronicle.

“I have always believed we should all think beyond politics and elections when it comes to nation building and the future of the youth” he added.

Delegation told to proceed with US trip

However, the Chief Minister decided to abide by the Centre’s instructions and asked the other delegation members to go ahead with the US visit and ensure the conclusion of MoU’s and partnership agreements.

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“We will make Hyderabad a global knowledge hub. The creation of Universities from Osmania to HCU to JNTU et al made Hyderabad a hub for best Human Resources. A single school, Hyderabad Public School, has shown how we can lead the world, producing some of the greatest tech leaders. The starting of IIT, ISB, IIIT, Nalsal helped Hyderabad attract top corporations and their GCCs. Now, we will make Hyderabad the home for the world’s greatest education and skills institutions to power our 21st century journey,” said Reddy.

“My resolve and endeavour to make Hyderabad one of the top global cities, where any common Indian can get education and a certificates from Harvard and Oxford, or an MIT and LBS or LSE, is because while most leaders have wanted to sent their children abroad, I want to bring the world’s best to India,” he added.

Reacting to the development, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "Let me say that the visit of chief ministers, as indeed of other dignitaries, are assessed by the Ministry of External Affairs in order to accord political clearance."

"The program proposed, in such cases, should be appropriate to the office held and the purpose of the visit. In this particular case, that was not so in respect of the United States, and therefore the clearance was denied. Incidentally, let me also tell you that clearance was given for his visit to the United Kingdom," he added as quoted by ANI.

(With agency inputs)