Hyderabad/New Delhi, Aug 22 (HS):The row between the Centre and the Telangana Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) over denial of political clearance for Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s proposed visit to the United States has intensified following reports that his itinerary included proposed meetings with US Vice President JD Vance and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

According to sources, the proposed meetings were not included in the programme submitted to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as part of the political clearance process. The sources maintained that the denial of clearance for the US leg was based on technical grounds and was not politically motivated.

The Telangana CMO had sought political clearance for Revanth Reddy’s proposed visit to both the United Kingdom and the United States. While clearance was granted for the UK leg, permission for the US visit was denied.

As part of the political clearance process, chief ministers, political leaders and other dignitaries are required to submit details of their proposed itineraries, including the purpose and programme of their overseas visits, to the MEA.

The reported proposed meeting with Vance would have constituted a high-level engagement, while the proposed interaction with Mamdani was also considered significant in view of his political profile.

Sources said the two meetings were not part of the programme communicated to the MEA. They further claimed that the Telangana CMO had been in direct communication with the respective US officials regarding the proposed engagements.

The Telangana CMO, however, stated that the primary purpose of the proposed US visit was to explore the best educational institutions and bring global-level education, skills and training opportunities to Telangana and Hyderabad.

In a statement, the CMO said the visit was intended to support the objectives of the National Education Policy and facilitate the establishment of world-class educational institutions in Telangana.

The proposed visit had been planned as part of Revanth Reddy’s wider overseas tour covering the UK and US. The UK leg received the required clearance, while the US component could not proceed following the denial of political clearance.

The latest developments have added a fresh dimension to the Centre-Telangana disagreement over the proposed US visit, with questions being raised over the itinerary submitted for clearance and the engagements subsequently planned by the state government.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar