MEA says proposed US programme was not appropriate, CM to return from London
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s proposed visit to the United States has been cancelled after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) denied political clearance for the US leg of his overseas tour.
Reddy is currently in London as part of the Telangana Rising delegation. His original itinerary included visits to the United Kingdom followed by Boston and other US destinations before returning to Hyderabad.
Centre approves UK visit but rejects US leg
- According to the Telangana Chief Minister’s Office, the state government had sought the Centre’s permission for both the UK and US visits.
- The UK visit was approved, but clearance for the US visit was denied. The decision was communicated after the official delegation had already reached the UK.
- The Telangana CMO described the decision as a “Political Denial” and said Reddy was disappointed by the development.
What did the MEA say?
- MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said overseas visits by chief ministers and other dignitaries are assessed before political clearance is granted.
- According to the MEA, the proposed US programme was not considered appropriate to the office held by the dignitary and the stated purpose of the visit. Therefore, political clearance was not granted.
- The MEA did not publicly provide details about which specific engagements it considered inappropriate.
Revanth Reddy’s US plans
- The proposed US visit was focused mainly on education, skills development and attracting leading international institutions to Telangana.
- Reddy had planned meetings with prominent American educational institutions to explore partnerships that could strengthen higher education and skill development in Telangana.
- The Telangana government has been pursuing partnerships involving institutions such as Harvard, MIT, Northeastern University and Virginia Tech.
Officials to continue US programme
- Although Reddy will not travel to the United States, he has instructed the Telangana delegation to continue with the planned US programme.
- Officials are expected to proceed with meetings and pursue proposed MoUs and partnership agreements with educational institutions.
Reddy to return to Hyderabad
- Following the denial of clearance, Reddy will not proceed from London to Boston.
- He is expected to return to Hyderabad from London after completing his UK engagements, with reports indicating that his return has been brought forward to August 23.
Political significance
- The decision has political significance because Telangana is governed by the Congress while the Centre is led by the BJP.
- However, the MEA has not officially described the decision as politically motivated. Its stated reason is that the proposed US programme did not meet the norms required for political clearance.
- The Telangana government, meanwhile, has criticised the decision and described it as a political denial.
Bottom line
Revanth Reddy’s US visit has been cancelled, while his UK visit was approved. The MEA says the proposed US programme was not appropriate to his office and the stated purpose of the visit.
Reddy will return to Hyderabad, while members of his delegation are expected to continue the planned US engagements.
Publication note: It is safer to report that the Centre “Denied political clearance” rather than stating that the visit was stopped for political reasons, because political motivation has not been established as the official reason.
