Telangana CM cancels US visit after Centre denies permission

Hyderabad, Aug 21 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has cancelled his visit to the United States after the Ministry of External Affairs denied permission, the CMO said on Friday.

The Chief Minister, who had left for London late on Wednesday night on a 10-day visit to the United Kingdom and the US, will return to India after his engagements in the UK

The official delegation led by the Chief Minister was scheduled to leave for the US on August 23.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the official TelanganaRising delegation led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has been forced to cancel their visit to the US after the Ministry of External Affairs has denied permission, saying, “…clearence from political angle is denied”.

The state government has sought Central permission for the trip to the UK and USA, as per policy and protocol, but only the UK trip was approved. The Centre informed the state government of its refusal of permission after the official delegation reached the UK, the CMO said.

Responding to the Central decision, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said, “The only purpose of the visit was to, as part of the New Education Policy of Centre, bring the world’s best institutions to India, to Telangana, to Hyderabad. They would have been an answer to our youth’s aspirations to get education, skills, and training from the best Ivy Leagues and top global institutions.”

“I have always believed we should all think beyond politics and elections when it comes to nation building and future of the youth,” he said.

While expressing shock at the “political denial” for a visit to further TelanganaRising and Education, and contribute to Viksit Bharat, CM Revanth Reddy has decided to comply with the Central decision and return to India from London, taking a flight back to Hyderabad, instead of proceeding to Boston, US.

CM Reddy has instructed the officials to go ahead with the US trip and conclude all MoUs and partnership agreements.

“We will make Hyderabad a global knowledge hub. The creation of Universities from Osmania to HCU to JNTU et al made Hyderabad a hub for the best Human Resources. A single school, Hyderabad Public School, has shown how we can lead the world, producing some of the greatest tech leaders. The start of IIT, ISB, IIIT, and Nalsar helped Hyderabad attract top corporations and their GCCs. Now, we will make Hyderabad the home for the world’s greatest education and skills institutions to power our 21st century journey,” he said.

CM Revanth Reddy will continue, as per the scheduled programme, his visits to and interactions with Oxford, Cambridge, London School of Economics, the London Business School, University of London, among others.

He will also be meeting with top sports institutions and skilling leadership in the UK, and try to formalise partnerships with Telangana.

“My resolve and endeavour to make Hyderabad one of the top global cities, where any common Indian can get education and a certificate from Harvard and Oxford, or an MIT and LBS or LSE, is because while most leaders want to send their children abroad, I want to bring the world’s best to India,” he added.

–IANS

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