Telangana CM Accuses Centre of Denying Him US Visit Due to Political Reasons

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday termed the Ministry of External Affairs’ denial of permission for his US visit an “insult” to the state. On his possible meeting with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, he said no appointment was fixed in this regard. “Besides, Mamdani is not an anti-social element. He is an elected Mayor,” he added. On speculation that he had plans to meet US Vice President J D Vance as well, he said, “I did not have any permission to meet with Vance and Mamdani, and I had not applied for this permission also.” At a press conference in Hyderabad on Monday, Reddy said the central government favours Gujarat and not Telangana. “I was denied permission to travel to lead the Telangana Rising delegation even as the Gujarat CM was allowed to travel under the banner of Vibrant Gujarat. This is an insult to the self respect of Telangana. The political reason for which I was denied permission was that the central government favours Gujarat and not Telangana,” he said. Last week, Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel departed for a tour of the US and Canada to promote the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2027. Reddy had to cancel his US visit after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) denied him the permission last week, saying “clearance from political angle is denied”, his office had said. Reddy, who returned to Hyderabad on Monday following a three-day visit to the UK, said, “I want to ask PM Narendra Modi and the Government of India, why did they deny me permission to travel to the US?” Reddy said he was travelling to the US with a delegation to attract investments in education, sports, and other areas. “I was travelling to attract MoUs from Harvard University and other US universities. I wanted to bring in educational specialists from across the world to Telangana,” he added. He said, “I went to the US earlier to study at Harvard University. This time, I did not go for myself. I went for the state and I was denied permission. “The reason behind the denial is that I belong to the Congress and I belong to Telangana,” he said. He said the trip would have helped “the downtrodden sections including Dalits, Adivasis and Bahujan students” who would have got the support of educational and sports institutions from the US. “This (MEA’s decision) is a denial of self-respect to Telangana. It is the denial aimed at 4 crore people of Telangana. This is about Gujarat dominance. The Gujarat CM was allowed to travel to Canada and the US… This is an insult to Telangana,” the CM said. Targeting the Centre, he said, “They want to send the message that investment for Telangana will be punished. They don’t want to allow any state to grow beyond a point. They only want Gujarat to develop, other BJP-run states to develop. This is discrimination.” Reddy said the Congress would raise the issue in Parliament. Stating that the purpose of his visit, its date and schedule was shared with the MEA, he asked, “Why did they deny me the US trip and not the UK one?” Targeting the PM, he said, “Modi has denied me the permission to travel to the US because he is discriminating against Telangana. He has denied me the nod because he does not care for the federal structure.” Referring to Modi’s Lahore visit in 2015, he asked, “Modi went to Pakistan. Whom did he take permission from?”