Evaluating the Actual Impact of Revanth’s Proposed High-Profile Engagements
Federal Boundary vs. State Ambition
What would have happened if Revanth Reddy, Telangana Chief Minister, met US Vice President JD Vance and the New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani during his abrogated US visit? Would heavens have fallen? He may have planned to meet the son of the US President Donald Trump as well. What is wrong? Many of us have reservations about Trump. But he is, after all, the President of the USA, A street in the developed zone of Hyderabad city was named after Trump. Trump Towers is also reportedly coming up in Telangana capital in a big way. Revanth would have spoken to them about the glory of Hyderabad and perhaps invited them to the city. What does the country lose? May be the CM would have invited Trump’s son to inaugurate the Trump Towers, the biggest in Asia.
State Economic Interests and Autonomy
It is true that Mamdani had criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In an address to the Hindu American Community, Mamdani said, “So, I have been critical of Mr. Modi (during the election campaign) because of the vision that I grew up with was of an India that was pluralistic, an India where everyone belonged, no matter their religion. And my critique has been of Mr. Modi and the BJP political party for their vision of an India that only has room for certain kinds of Indians, and it’s part of a belief that pluralism is something to be celebrated, something to be strived for.” It is the general criticism of Modi and the BJP.
Is it reason enough to deny permission for Revanth Reddy to visit the US? On being denied clearance, the Telangana CM instead of flying to Boston as planned earlier, had to abruptly return from London on the 24th. He was slated to visit Harvard University and attend a conference of businessmen to talk about the prospects of investing in Telangana. By denying the permission for opposition chief minister the Centre has sent wrong signals to the people of India and the international community. Revanth Reddy cannot be faulted when he criticized the NDA government for insulting the four crore Telangana people by not giving clearance for him to visit the US.
The Centre’s Rationale and Protocol Standard
The CM said that he was planning to meet the Vice President is only speculation on the part of the BJP. Even if he had planned to meet Mamdani, “what is wrong with it?” he asked. “Mamdani was an elected Mayor of New York City and I am an elected chief minister of a State and I am not an anti-national,” Revanth commented. On Friday, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal said political clearance was accorded to Revanth Reddy to visit England but was not granted in the case of the US. Revanth Reddy has suggested that the spokesman better join the BJP.
It seems Revanth Reddy wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) saying that his US visit was intended mainly to promote the concept of ‘Rising Telangana.’ The Centre has apparently felt that it would not be appropriate for the CM to participate in political activity there. The meetings he purportedly planned can be said to be part of the same initiative of promoting Hyderabad. State BJP President Ramachandra Rao demanding apology from the chief minister for planning to meet a rabid anti-India critic like Mamdani can be considered as part of the anti-congress rhetoric which was indulged in by the other leaders of the Telangana BJP.
Cooperative Federalism Under Strain
Questioning the decision, the CM said, “I want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi, you have visited many countries. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the USA and Canada from August 17 to 24 to promote Vibrant Gujarat – 2047. The Centre gave him political clearance, but denied it to the Chief Minister of Telangana. Why this discrimination when I wanted to promote Telangana Raising Vision-2047?” The stand taken by the MEA is certainly narrow minded and it amounts to weaponizing the rules book. If India believes in building global knowledge hubs like Hyderabad, this attitude does not behove of an MEA of a country like India which prides itself on its growing confidence on the world stage.
It is more disturbing because there seems to be no communication between the Centre and the Chief Minister. That too a Revanth Reddy, the second chief minister of a newly formed Telangana State who started his life as a member of ABVP and who tried to maintain cordial relationship with Modi.
The Contrast Between Post-Op Sindoor Diplomacy and State Clearance Snubs
After Operation Sindoor in May 2025, the Modi government dispatched seven multi-party delegations, which included prominent leaders of the opposition, to various world capitals. The delegations had projected the national unity and presented the case of India to the world leaders. It was hailed as a positive gesture on the part of the NDA government. Though the subject was terror the response was generally heartening. It is stated with considerable pride that India’s ruling establishment trusted and included the opposition in the delegations in dealing with the world.
Examining the MEA’s Clearance Denials Across Regimes
However, Revanth was not the only chief minister in India to be denied clearance to visit foreign countries. There were many such politicians. There was a chief minister who was denied permission twice. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann wanted to lead a 25-member delegation to UK and Israel in February 2026 to promote investments in Punjab. The industry minister also was included in the delegation. The Centre did not grant him political clearance. Mann also planned to visit Paris Olympics in 2024 between August 3 and 9 in order to support the hockey team but was not allowed. The same Mann was allowed to visit Japan and South Korea in December 2025.
The MEA also turned down the request from Mamata Banerjee in 2021 as a chief minister when she wanted to visit Rome to attend the World Peace Conference. Chandrababu Naidu is easily the only CM across the country who goes abroad quite often. But, though he was part of the NDA establishment, was denied clearance to visit Singapore in March 2015 when he wanted to pay his last respects to Lee Kuan Yew, the founder-prime minister of that country whose funeral was on 29 March. As Prime Minister Modi himself is traveling to Singapore on March 29, the MEA felt that Chief Minister Naidu shall not visit the same place prior to the PM’s visit. Congress CM of Assam Tarun Gogoi was denied clearance by the UPA government led by the Congress. NDA Chief Minister of Jarkhand, Arjun Munda was not given permission to go abroad by the UPA government. So, Revanth Reddy was not alone in being treated this way by the Centre. However, in his case the reason cited by the MEA does not stand scrutiny. He should have been accorded clearance.
Prominent Journalist
Dr. K. Ramachandra Murthy is a versatile journalist with a distinguished career. Dr. Murthy began his extensive career with Andhra Prabha of The Indian Express group in Bengaluru. He was editor of Udayam, Vaartha and Andhra Jyothy. Dr. Murthy founded and edited HMTV news channel and The Hans India, an English newspaper. He was also editorial director of the Telugu newspaper, Saakshi. He was awarded Ph. D for his research work in rural reporting. Dr. Murthy’s five decades in journalism showcases his influential roles across both print and electronic media. He wrote the political biography of NTR published by Harper Collins.
Email: murthykondubhatla@gmail.com
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