Centre denies permission for Telangana CM's U.S. visit; officials to proceed with university MoUs
The Centre has denied permission to Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to visit the United States as part of his TelanganaRising delegation, prompting him to cut short his London tour and return to Hyderabad on August 23 instead of proceeding to Boston.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which had been approached by the State government for clearance for the Chief Minister's official visit to the U.K. and the U.S., approved only the U.K. leg of the tour. The State government was informed of the denial of permission for the U.S. visit after the official delegation had already reached the U.K. According to the State government, the MEA cited denial of clearance from the "political angle."
Reacting to the decision, Mr. Revanth Reddy said the objective of the U.S. visit was to bring some of the world's leading educational institutions to Telangana and Hyderabad, in line with the objectives of the National Education Policy.
"The only purpose of the visit was, as part of the National Education Policy, to bring the world's best institutions to India, to Telangana and to Hyderabad. They would have been an answer to our youth's aspirations to get education, skills and training from the best Ivy League and top global institutions," he said.
The Chief Minister said national development and the future of the youth should rise above political considerations. "I have always believed we should all think beyond politics and elections when it comes to nation building and the future of the youth," he said.
Despite the denial of permission, Mr. Revanth Reddy instructed the officials accompanying the delegation to proceed with the planned U.S. programme and finalise the proposed memoranda of understanding and partnership agreements with leading institutions, including Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Northeastern University and Virginia Tech.
He said the State's objective was to transform Hyderabad into a global knowledge hub by attracting leading educational and skills institutions. "We will make Hyderabad a global knowledge hub," he said, pointing to the city's educational ecosystem comprising Osmania University, the University of Hyderabad, JNTU, IIT Hyderabad, ISB, IIIT and NALSAR.
Mr. Revanth Reddy said the creation of world-class educational institutions in Hyderabad had helped the city attract major corporations and global capability centres and that the next phase would focus on bringing leading global institutions to the city.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister will continue his scheduled engagements in the U.K. over the next two days. He is expected to interact with academics and representatives of leading institutions, including Oxford and Cambridge universities, the London School of Economics, London Business School and the University of London. He will also meet representatives of leading sports institutions and skilling organisations to explore 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 have wanted to send their children abroad, I want to bring the world's best to India," he said in a statement.
The Chief Minister asserted that the denial of permission would not affect the State's efforts under the TelanganaRising initiative. "TelanganaRising is unstoppable," he said, emphasising that the future of the youth and the development of Telangana and the country should remain above politics.
