The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy's proposed visit to the US was denied political clearance as the programme was not considered appropriate for the purpose of his visit.
Revanth was denied permission by the Centre to visit the USA, the CMO had said earlier on Friday.
The Telangana CM, who is in London currently, had planned to visit the US and return to Hyderabad on August 30.
"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 …clearence from political angle is denied," a CMO release said.
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MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal later clarified that visits by chief ministers and other dignitaries are assessed by the ministry before political clearance is granted.
What MEA said?
{{/usCountry}}MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal later clarified that visits by chief ministers and other dignitaries are assessed by the ministry before political clearance is granted.
What MEA said?
{{/usCountry}}“Chief ministers, as indeed other dignitaries, are assessed by the Ministry of External Affairs in order to accord political clearance,” Jaiswal said.
He added that the proposed programme must 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,” Jaiswal said.
However, Jaiswal clarified that clearance had been granted for Revanth's proposed visit to the UK.
What Revanth said after trip to US cancelled
The chief minister cancelled his US trip, but said issues concerning nation-building and the future of the youth should be kept above political considerations.
Revanth said the objective of the US visit was to bring some of the world’s leading educational institutions to Congress-ruled Telangana and create opportunities for young people to access high-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 said.
He added that the Telangana Rising initiative would continue to focus on strengthening the state's economic and human resource capabilities, irrespective of political hurdles.