"Why was permission granted for England but denied for US": Telangana CM accuses Centre of political bias

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Monday accused the Centre of denying political clearance for his proposed US visit for "political reasons", saying the state wanted to welcome investments from across the world.

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Monday accused the Centre of denying political clearance for his proposed US visit for "political reasons", saying the state wanted to welcome investments from across the world. He questioned why permission was granted for his UK visit but denied for the US trip if there was nothing political about it.

Reddy, who had left on August 20 for a 10-day UK and US tour with the 'Telangana Rising' delegation to sign MoUs with educational institutions, returned to Hyderabad from London on August 23 after his proposed US visit was cancelled. Addressing a press conference, Telangana CM said, "The Ministry of External Affairs examined my proposal and declined clearance from a political angle. I want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi: if there was nothing political about my foreign tour, why was permission granted for England but denied for the US?"

The Chief Minister said the state government wanted to follow all regulations set by the Centre and protect investments coming into the state. "Not just America but any country in the world. If they are going to come and invest in my state, whatever regulations are made by the Government of India, we want to welcome everyone; we want to protect their investment; we will make sure to get profit from Telangana, so this is very simple. This is the only political reason Narendra Modi has refused to let me travel to the US to promote Telangana," he further said.

On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs clarified that the proposed programme for Telangana Chief Minister Reddy's visit to the United States was not considered appropriate "to the office held and the purpose of the visit", and therefore political clearance was not granted. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said visits by Chief Ministers and other dignitaries are assessed by the ministry before political clearance is accorded. (ANI)