The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has denied political clearance for Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s proposed visit to the United States, forcing the cancellation of the US leg of his official Telangana Rising delegation tour.
The Chief Minister, who is currently in London, will now return to Hyderabad on August 23 instead of proceeding to Boston.
The state government had sought the Centre’s permission for both the United Kingdom and United States segments of the tour in accordance with established protocol. Clearance was granted only for the UK portion.
The MEA informed the Telangana government of the refusal for the US visit after the official delegation had already arrived in the UK. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal explained the decision at a media briefing on August 21. ‘The visits of Chief Ministers, as indeed 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 in respect of the United States, and therefore the clearance was denied,’ he said. Mr. Jaiswal confirmed that clearance had been given for the UK visit.
According to the Telangana Chief Minister’s Office, the US itinerary was intended to focus on education, skills, technology and investment partnerships under the state’s Telangana Rising initiative and in alignment with the National Education Policy. Planned engagements included interactions and proposed memoranda of understanding with institutions such as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Northeastern University and Virginia Tech. A ‘Meet and Greet’ organised by the Indian Overseas Congress (USA) in New York was also listed.
One report, citing diplomatic sources, indicated that a proposed interaction with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was among the elements of the itinerary that raised concerns for the Centre, though the MEA did not officially cite any specific meeting as the reason.
Reacting to the denial, Revanth Reddy said the sole purpose of the US visit was to bring leading global educational institutions to Telangana and Hyderabad to meet the aspirations of the state’s youth for quality education, skills and training. ‘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 stated.
While expressing surprise at the ‘political denial,’ the Chief Minister said he would respect the Centre’s decision. He directed officials accompanying the delegation to continue with the planned US programme and finalise the proposed partnerships and MoUs.