Telangana CM denied US trip, MEA cites ‘non-conformity of norms’

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s ambitious US trip, aimed at attracting global educational institutions to the state, has been denied political clearance by the Ministry of External Affairs, leading to the cancellation of the US leg of his ‘TelanganaRising’ delegation tour.

IMAGE: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. Photograph: @revanth_anumula/X

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has been denied permission by the Centre to visit the United States, the Chief Minister’s Office said on Friday.

Reddy, who is in London currently, had planned to undertake a 10-day visit to the United Kingdom and US before returning to Hyderabad on August 30.

Following the denial of permission, he decided to return to Hyderabad from London on August 23.

‘The official TelanganaRising 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,’ a CMO release said.

Centre’s Stance and CM’s Reaction

The state government had sought the Centre’s permission for the trip to the UK and USA, as per policy and protocol, but only the UK trip was approved, it said.

The Centre informed the state government of its refusal of permission after the official delegation reached the UK, it said.

Though shocked by the ‘political denial’ of a visit to further the state government’s ‘TelanganaRising’ vision and education, and contribute to ‘Viksit Bharat’, CM Reddy decided to comply with the Central decision and return to India from London, taking a flight back to Hyderabad and instead of proceeding to Boston, USA, it said.

“The only purpose of the visit was to, as part of the New Education Policy of the 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,” Reddy said.

The CM said he always believed that ‘we should all think beyond politics and elections when it comes to nation building and the future of the youth’.

Continuing UK Engagements and Future Plans

Reddy has instructed the officials to go ahead with the US trip and conclude all the MoUs and partnership agreements.

The CM will continue, as per the scheduled programme in the UK, his visits to and interactions with Oxford, Cambridge, London School of Economics, the London Business School, University of London, among others, the release said.

Expressing his resolve to make Hyderabad a global knowledge hub, Reddy said the establishment of Osmania University, Hyderabad Central University and other universities made Hyderabad a hub for the best human resources.

A single school, Hyderabad Public School (HPS), has shown that the state and the country can lead the world, producing some of the greatest tech leaders, he said.

CEOs of top companies, including Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and World Bank President Ajay Banga are alumnus of the HPS.

Noting that the establishment of IIT, ISB, IIIT, NALSAR University of Law helped Hyderabad attract top corporations and their Global Capability Centres (GCCs), Reddy said the state government would make the city home to the world’s greatest education and skills institutions to power our 21st century journey.

The CM said his resolve and endeavour is to make Hyderabad one of the top global cities, ‘where any common Indian can get an education and certificates from Harvard and Oxford, or an MIT and LBS or LSE’.

While most leaders want to send their children abroad, he wants to bring the world’s best to India, Reddy added.

The chief minister would also be meeting with top sports institutions and skilling leadership in the United Kingdom, and try to formalise partnerships with Telangana, the release said.

BJP’s Response and Precedent

Responding to the development, state Bharatiya Janata Party president N Ramchander Rao said there is no political angle in the denial of permission.

The Ministry of External Affairs takes into consideration various relevant issues, including the necessity of the official visit, the background of the organiations who invited the VIP, international protocol, diplomatic issues, security arrangements and FCRA regulations, he told reporters.

He said former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s proposed visits to US and Israel were denied permission by the then United Progressive Alliance government in 2012.

In the past, Congress leaders had written letters to see that the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi does not get visa to visit the US, he alleged.

Observing that Revanth Reddy did not face any hurdles in the past to visit foreign countries, Ramchander Rao said the current decision was taken as per the rules.

Earlier Development

CM Reddy departed for London from New Delhi on August 20 for a 10-day tour of the UK and US.

The CMO had said Reddy, during the UK leg, would visit Blavatnik School of Governance, Oxford University on August 21 and attend an EPL Football presentation at Emirates Stadium.

On August 22, he will interact with a Cambridge team and is scheduled to visit the Senate House, University of London Campus and the London Business School, it said.

On August 24, Reddy had planned to tour the campuses of Harvard University and MIT in the US, followed by a visit to the North-Eastern campus and meeting with a team of Virginia Tech University in Boston on August 25.

His itinerary also included a ‘Meet and Greet’ event of Indian Overseas Congress (USA) in New York on August 26 before returning to Hyderabad on August 30.