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Why Revanth Reddy was denied clearance for US visit: Centre explains
Reddy is expected to return home on August 23 after completing the UK leg of a two-nation tour.
Telangana chief minister and Congress leader A Revanth Reddy was denied political clearance for a planned visit to the US because the purpose and programme of the trip did not conform with established norms, the external affairs ministry said on Friday.
Centre denies US political clearance to Telangana CM’s visit
Reddy left for a 10-day visit to the UK and the US this week. He is now expected to return home on August 23 after completing the UK leg of the tour, for which political clearance was granted. The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in Hyderabad said he was denied permission to go to the US because of a “political angle”.
When external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked about the matter at a regular media briefing in Delhi, he replied: “The visit of chief ministers, as indeed of other dignitaries, is assessed by the ministry of external affairs in order to accord political clearance.”
Also read: Revanth Reddy cancels US visit as Centre denies clearance due to lack of 'political angle'
MEA says proposed US programme did not meet clearance norms
He added: “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 US, and therefore, the clearance was denied, not given.”
Jaiswal pointed out without elaborating that political clearance was granted for Reddy’s visit to the UK.
In the past, the BJP-led central government has denied clearance for foreign visits by chief ministers from non-NDA parties such as Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) Mamata Banerjee and Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal.
Also read: MEA on no permit for Telangana CM Revanth Reddy's US trip: Event wasn't appropriate to CM’s office
Reddy alleges political angle, says youth interests should be above politics
Reddy alleged during his tour of the UK that there was a “conspiracy” by the Centre and noted that issues such as youth development should be above politics. He pointed out that the only purpose of his visit was to bring the world’s best institutions to Telangana as part of the country’s New Education Policy and said: “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 added, “I have always believed we should all think beyond politics and elections when it comes to nation-building and the future of the youth.”
Also read: Telangana Congress rift deepens as party takes action against leaders over ‘anti-CM’ remarks
Telangana plans to continue global education outreach
Reddy was accompanied by the “TelanganaRising” delegation for his visit, and he planned to travel to Boston and New York. He instructed state government officials to continue the US trip to sign agreements with leading educational institutions such as Harvard and MIT. The government’s TelanganaRising initiative, he said, would continue to focus on building the state’s economic and human-resource capabilities irrespective of political hurdles.
“My resolve and endeavour to make Hyderabad one of the top global cities, where any common Indian can get education and certificates from Harvard and Oxford, or an MIT and LBS or LSE, is because while most leaders have wanted to send their children abroad, I want to bring the world’s best to India,” he said.
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