Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge speaking to mediapersons outside his residence in Kalaburagi on Saturday (August 22).
| Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI
Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday (August 22) condemned the BJP-led Union government for denying political clearance to Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for his proposed visit to the U.S.Addressing reporters outside his residence in Kalaburagi, Mr. Kharge accused the Centre of selectively granting permission for foreign visits and alleged that such restrictions could hinder States’ efforts to attract investment and promote economic development.Terming the denial of permission “deeply unfair” and “fundamentally wrong”, Mr. Kharge said Mr. Reddy’s travel was for interacting with the Indian diaspora, particularly NRIs from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and invite them to invest in Telangana.“There are a large number of NRIs in the U.S. and the U.K. They are keen to invest in India and seek some concessions, such as reduced taxes. Chief Ministers from many States often visit these countries and invite potential NRI investors to invest in their native States in India. Denying permission for such visits is an injustice and I condemn it,” he said.Mr. Kharge said investments coming into a State would benefit not only the State concerned but also the country as a whole by creating employment opportunities for the youth. He alleged that the Union government was deliberately attempting to prevent States from directly reaching out to potential investors abroad and ensure that major investment initiatives were routed through the Centre.Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks that policies should be formulated based on the needs of the country and its people rather than forcing the country to adapt to policies, Mr. Kharge said this was precisely the approach followed by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.“During Nehru’s tenure, policies were tailored to the nation’s immediate requirements through the Five-Year Plans. Heavy industries and public sector undertakings were established to build a self-reliant economy. Premier institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) were created to address the acute shortage of technical and managerial expertise,” Mr. Kharge said.He added that the approach being emphasised on by Mr. Modi now had already been adopted by Mr. Nehru decades ago through institution-building and planned economic development. Published - August 22, 2026 07:12 pm IST
