The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said political clearance for Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s proposed visit to the United States was denied because the itinerary submitted for the trip was not considered suitable for his office or the purpose of the visit.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responding to questions about the decision, said the ministry assesses proposed foreign visits by chief ministers and other dignitaries before granting political clearance.
“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 programme proposed, in such cases, should be appropriate to the office held and the purpose of the visit,” Jaiswal said, according to ANI.
“In this particular case, that was not so in respect of the United States, and therefore the clearance was denied,” he added.
Jaiswal also clarified that the Centre had granted clearance for Reddy’s proposed visit to the United Kingdom.
US VISIT FOCUSED ON EDUCATION, TECH: TELANGANA GOVERNMENT
The MEA’s comments came after the Telangana government announced that Reddy’s planned US leg of the Telangana Rising delegation had been cancelled following the Centre’s refusal to grant political clearance.
Reddy had been scheduled to travel from London to Boston before visiting other US cities, including New York. According to the Telangana government, the proposed US tour was primarily focused on education, skills, technology and partnerships with prominent international institutions.
The Chief Minister had planned meetings and proposed MoUs with institutions such as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Northeastern University and Virginia Tech.
“The only purpose of the visit was to, as part of the New Education Policy of Centre, bring the world's best institutions to India, to Telangana, to Hyderabad,” Reddy said.
He said partnerships with leading universities could help fulfil the aspirations of young people seeking access to international education, skills and training.
Reddy also argued that political considerations should not interfere with nation-building and efforts to improve opportunities for the country’s youth.
Following the denial of clearance, Reddy decided to return to Hyderabad from London on August 23 rather than continue to the US.
DELEGATION TO CONTINUE US VISIT WITHOUT REDDY
Despite cancelling his own US trip, Reddy instructed officials accompanying the delegation to proceed with the planned US programme and pursue the proposed MoUs and other partnership agreements.
The Chief Minister expressed disappointment over what his office described as a “political denial” and reiterated that the proposed visit was aimed at bringing leading international educational institutions to Telangana.
Reddy, meanwhile, is continuing with his scheduled engagements in the UK. His programme includes meetings with academics and officials associated with Oxford, Cambridge, the London School of Economics, London Business School and the University of London.
He is also expected to meet representatives of sports and skilling institutions in the UK to explore potential partnerships with Telangana.
Reddy said his government’s objective was to establish Hyderabad as a global hub for knowledge and education while attracting leading international institutions to the city.
