‘Double standard’: Overseas Congress on denial to Revanth Reddy, nod for Gujarat CM’s US visit | India News
NEW DELHI: The Indian Overseas Congress (IOC), the Congress’ foreign wing, criticised the Centre for its “double standards” in allowing the Gujarat chief minister to visit the US while denying political clearance to Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy for his US visit.“The principal objective of the chief minister’s US visit was to advance Telangana’s ambition to make Hyderabad a global centre for education, innovation, skills, and research through partnerships with some of the world’s leading universities,” the IOC said in a statement, according to PTI.“Efforts to advance education, employment, investment, and opportunities for India’s youth must remain above partisan politics. The denial of clearance to the Telangana chief minister while the Gujarat chief minister is permitted to visit the United States amounts to a troubling and unmistakable double standard,” the statement added.Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel, a leader of the BJP that leads 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 to be held in the state in January.On the other hand, Reddy, who is in London as part of his 10-day visit to the UK and the US, had planned to travel to the US after concluding the UK leg. With the ministry of external Affairs (MEA) denying him permission, he will now return to Hyderabad on Sunday, when he was scheduled to leave for Boston.On its decision, the MEA explained on Friday that it assesses visits by chief ministers, as well as other dignitaries, before according 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 at a briefing.Responding to the MEA’s decision, Reddy had stated that the sole purpose of his visit to the US was to, as part of the Centre’s New Education Policy, bring the world’s best institutions to India, Telangana and 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 the future of the youth.”
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Meanwhile, the Indian Overseas Congress noted that the chief minister has instructed the delegation of state government officials to proceed to the United States as scheduled and continue with the planned engagements. The delegation is expected to pursue the scheduled Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and partnership initiatives with leading 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,” it said.
