๐๐๐ฐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ก๐ข, ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ (๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐): The Centre reportedly denied political clearance for Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s proposed visit to the United States after the planned programme included meetings with US Vice President JD Vance and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani that were allegedly not routed through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
While the MEA granted political clearance for the Chief Minister’s visit to the United Kingdom, permission for the US leg was denied.
Government sources told NDTV that the decision was taken on technical grounds and was not linked to any political disagreement between the Centre and the Telangana government.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said proposed foreign visits by Chief Ministers and other dignitaries are assessed based on whether the programme is appropriate to the office held and the purpose of the visit.
According to government sources, the proposed engagements with Vance and Mamdani had not been discussed with or routed through the MEA as part of the political clearance process.
The issue has since triggered a political row in Telangana, with the State government questioning why clearance was granted for the UK visit but denied for the US trip. The Union government, however, has maintained that the decision was based on established procedures.