Telangana CM’s visit to US not given political clearance as proposed programmes not appropriate: MEA

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said that the Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s US trip was denied political clearance as the programmes proposed were not appropriate to the office held and the purpose of the visit

“Let me say that the visits of Chief Ministers, as indeed those of other dignitaries, are assessed by the Ministry of External Affairs in order to accord political clearance. The programme 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 with respect to the United States. Therefore, the clearance was denied and not given. Incidentally, let me also tell you that clearance was given for his visit to the United Kingdom,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated during a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) of Telangana confirmed that the US visit of Reddy has been cancelled after the permission was denied by the MEA.

“Although the delegation led by the Chief Minister was scheduled to visit the UK and the USA, Revanth Reddy cancelled the US leg of the trip after the Centre informed the state that permission was being denied on political grounds,” the CMO stated on X.

According to the statement, the state had sought the Centre’s permission for the Chief Minister’s visit to the UK and the US in accordance with established procedures and protocols. Initially, permission was granted only for the UK visit. After the official delegation had already arrived in the UK, the Centre informed the state government that permission for the US visit would not be granted.

“The Chief Minister expressed deep dismay that permission for this visit — which was intended to foster Telangana’s development, advance the education sector, and contribute to the building of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India)—was denied for political reasons. Nevertheless, respecting the Centre’s decision, he decided to return to Hyderabad from London instead of proceeding to Boston, USA,” the statement added.

Responding to the Centre’s decision, the Chief Minister stated, “There was only one objective behind this visit: to bring world-renowned educational institutions to India, Telangana, and Hyderabad as part of the New Education Policy introduced by the Centre. These institutions would have fulfilled the aspirations of our youth to gain education, skills, and training from top-tier Ivy League universities and the world’s leading educational establishments.”

“I have always believed that when it comes to nation-building and the future of our youth, everyone should think beyond politics and elections,” the Chief Minister remarked, according to the CMO.

IANS