The Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) USA Telangana Chapter on Saturday condemned the Indian government’s decision to deny political clearance to Telangana state's chief minister A Revanth Reddy for his planned visit to the United States, calling the decision a matter of “deep disappointment and concern.”
Reddy, who is currently in London, had planned to travel to the United States after concluding his UK trip on August 23.
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday that it assesses the visits of chief ministers and other dignitaries before granting political clearance.
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"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," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi on Friday.
“Therefore, clearance has not been given. Incidentally, his visit to the UK has been cleared,” he added.
The Telangana Chapter said Reddy’s US tour had included a major public reception in New York and high-level engagements with leading American academic institutions.
“The principal objective of the chief minister's US visit was to advance Telangana's ambition to make Hyderabad a global centre for education, innovation, skills, and research through partnerships with some of the world's leading universities,” the IOC statement said.
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Responding to the MEA’s decision, Reddy said the only purpose of his visit to the United States was to, as part of the New Education Policy of the Centre, bring the world’s best institutions to India, Telangana and 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. I have always believed we should all think beyond politics and elections when it comes to nation-building and the future of the youth.”
George Abraham, Vice-Chairman of IOC-USA, said efforts to advance education, employment, investment and opportunities for India’s youth must remain above partisan politics.
Abraham “questioned the denial of clearance to the Telangana chief minister while the Gujarat chief minister is permitted to visit the United States, calling the unequal treatment a troubling and unmistakable double standard.”
The Telangana Chapter said Reddy had instructed a delegation of state government officials to proceed to the United States as scheduled and continue the planned engagements.
The delegation is expected to pursue the scheduled Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and partnership initiatives with leading institutions, including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Northeastern University and Virginia Tech, the statement said.
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Since permission to travel to the United States was denied, Reddy is returning to Hyderabad on August 30, the Chief Minister’s Office said in a release.
Reddy has instructed officials to proceed with the US trip and conclude all the MoUs and partnership agreements, it said.
In the past, the MEA declined political clearance to Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee to travel abroad while they were Chief Ministers of Delhi and West Bengal, respectively.
IOC USA president Mohinder Singh Gilzian, working president, IOC USA National Pradeep Samala, chairman of the Telangana Chapter Rammohan Gadula, president, Telangana Chapter Rajeshwar Reddy Gangasani, general secretary, IOC USA National Sharath Chandra Vemuganti and general secretary, Telangana Chapter Narendar Yelmareddy said thousands of members of the Indian diaspora from the state had registered within hours to welcome Reddy in the United States.
"The IOC USA strongly condemns the use of political or administrative mechanisms to impede legitimate initiatives aimed at promoting education, investment, innovation, and economic development. Political rivalry should end where the interests of India's youth and the development of its states begin,” it said.
The IOC USA “stands firmly with chief minister Revanth Reddy and his vision of transforming Telangana into a globally competitive destination for education, technology, innovation, investment, and skills development. Political clearance may be denied, but Telangana's aspirations cannot be denied. The momentum behind #TelanganaRising will continue.”
(With inputs from agencies)
