Bengaluru: Karnataka IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge on Saturday (June 21) announced that the United States has granted approval for his visit, shortly after he wrote a letter to Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar seeking an official explanation for the earlier denial of permission.
Priyank Kharge was scheduled to visit the U.S. from June 14 to 27 to attend BIO 2025 in Boston and the Automation Conference in San Francisco. However, while he was in France, the Central Government had denied him permission to travel to the U.S.
On Saturday, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kharge stated that the Ministry of External Affairs had taken a U-turn, reversing its earlier decision and granting him permission to travel.
Kharge mentioned that the request for travel clearance was submitted on May 15. However, it was only after he held a press conference and raised objections that he received a no-objection letter from the Centre on June 19, according to the report.
During the press conference, Minister Kharge questioned the grounds for denial, stating: “If the rejection wasn’t political, then what else could be the reason?” He had also mentioned that he had written a two-page letter to Minister Jaishankar, urging the Centre to issue an official clarification on the matter.
