Telangana CM Accuses PM Modi of Denying Him US Visit, Alleging Favoritism Towards Gujarat

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of stopping his proposed visit to the US on "political grounds." He said it was done because he leads a Congress government. The Chief Minister said he had applied for political clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs in the prescribed format, but received a one-line reply rejecting his request. He questioned, "What is the meaning of political grounds? What is the reason for this political decision?" CM Revanth Reddy alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not want Telangana to attract investments and is using the clearance process to favour Gujarat. He compared it to the permission given to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. According to Revanth Reddy, Bhupendra Patel was deliberately travelling to Canada and the US to hold investment roadshows. Reddy said, "Narendra Modi and Bhupendra Patel are from Gujarat and the Gujarat Chief Minister has been given permission to visit the US." Chief Minister Reddy accused the Centre of trying to create hurdles in the way of encouraging companies to invest in Telangana and the world.