Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi explain the alleged “political reasons” behind the Revanth US tour denial.
Addressing a press conference at the State Secretariat, Revanth Reddy criticised the Centre for withholding permission for his proposed official visit to the United States. He questioned why the Ministry of External Affairs approved his visit to the United Kingdom but denied clearance for the US leg.
“The State government furnished all details regarding the proposed foreign tour to the Ministry of External Affairs,” Revanth Reddy said. He said the government had also submitted comprehensive information about the programme. However, he claimed the ministry cited political considerations while rejecting the US visit.
Revanth US tour was part of TelanganaRising 2047
The Chief Minister said the proposed visit formed part of the TelanganaRising 2047 initiative. Therefore, he demanded that Modi disclose the political considerations behind the decision. Revanth Reddy accused the Centre of discriminating against Telangana and obstructing its development.
He contrasted the decision with permission given to the Gujarat Chief Minister for a US and Canada visit. According to Revanth Reddy, that tour ran from August 17 to 28. He said the Gujarat visit promoted investment-related programmes under the Vibrant Gujarat initiative.
“Why was I prevented from visiting the US as part of TelanganaRising 2047? This is an injustice to four crore people of Telangana,” he said. The Chief Minister alleged that the Centre feared Telangana could overtake Gujarat in attracting investments.
He argued that preventing Telangana’s Chief Minister from undertaking an investment promotion tour could hurt the State’s development prospects. “This clearly reflects discrimination against Telangana and an attempt to stall its progress,” Revanth Reddy said.
He added that Telangana MPs would raise the issue in Parliament. Revanth Reddy said the Centre’s decision would not deter the State from pursuing its investment and development agenda.
He announced that Telangana would conduct the Telangana Global Summit 2026 on December 8 and 9. Invest Telangana would organise the event. “The Centre may have blocked my tour, but it cannot stop Telangana from achieving its goals,” he said.
The Chief Minister also stressed the importance of maintaining cordial Centre-State relations despite political differences. “There may be ideological differences between political parties, but cordial relations must exist between the Centre and State governments,” he said.
However, he argued that the Centre’s approach in the Revanth US tour matter undermined such relations. Revanth Reddy said the Union government represented a union of states. He added that this principle reflected the country’s democratic spirit.
CM fears potential investment loss for Telangana
The Chief Minister said Telangana could lose potential investments because of the Centre’s decision. “Our concern is that the Centre’s stance could result in Telangana missing out on potential investments,” he said.
Revanth Reddy said his government would continue exerting pressure on the Centre to advance Telangana’s development interests. He also objected to comments made by BJP leaders about his proposed US visit.
The Chief Minister accused them of making personal and politically motivated allegations. He also alleged that BJP leaders issued false statements about the proposed official tour. However, Revanth Reddy said he did not want to turn the dispute into a political argument over the BJP.
“I do not want to raise political issues concerning the BJP’s stance since this is a matter involving two governments,” he said.