Congress foreign wing alleges double standard in clearing chief ministers' US visits
NEW DELHI: The Indian Overseas Congress (IOC), the overseas wing of the Congress party, has accused the central government of applying 'double standards' in granting political clearance to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel for a US visit while denying the same to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
The IOC said the primary aim of Reddy's proposed US visit was to advance Telangana's ambition of making Hyderabad a global hub for education, innovation, skills, and research through partnerships with leading universities. 'Efforts to advance education, employment, investment, and opportunities for India's youth must remain above partisan politics,' the IOC said in a statement. It described the denial of clearance to Reddy while permitting the Gujarat CM as a 'troubling and unmistakable double standard.'
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which heads the government at the Centre, left for an official trip to the United States and Canada on August 16 to promote the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2027, scheduled to be held in Gujarat in January.
Revanth Reddy, currently in London as part of a 10-day visit to the UK and the US, had planned to travel to the US after concluding the UK leg. However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) denied political clearance, and Reddy will now return to Hyderabad on Sunday, the day he was scheduled to depart for Boston.
The MEA explained on Friday that it assesses visits by chief ministers and other dignitaries before granting political clearance. 'The programme proposed in such cases should be appropriate to the office held and the purpose of the visit. In this particular case, that was not so in respect of the US. Therefore, clearance has not been given. Incidentally, his visit to the UK has been cleared,' MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters.
Responding to the MEA's decision, Reddy stated that the sole purpose of his US visit was to bring the world's best institutions to India, Telangana, and Hyderabad as part of the Centre's New Education Policy. '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 the future of the youth,' he said.
The Indian Overseas Congress also noted that Reddy has directed a delegation of state government officials to proceed to the United States as scheduled and continue with planned engagements. The delegation is expected to pursue memorandums of understanding and partnership initiatives with institutions including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Northeastern University, and Virginia Tech.
'The IOC USA strongly condemns the use of political or administrative mechanisms to impede legitimate initiatives aimed at promoting education, investment, innovation, and economic development. Political rivalry should end where the interests of India's youth and the development of its states begin,' the overseas wing said.
