HYDERABAD: Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy is not the first CM to be denied political clearance by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to visit a foreign country for official purposes. Among the many opposition CMs and ministers from various states denied nod for a foreign tour, some had faced rejections multiple times. Sources, however, said Revanth is the first CM to be denied political clearance both after the formation of Telangana, and also in the united AP govt.
According to various sources, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann along with a 25-member delegation including state industries minister, was supposed to visit UK and Israel in February 2026 to attract investments, for which political clearance was rejected. Previously, the MEA had also declined clearance to Mann for his planned to visit Paris Olympics between Aug 3 to 9 in 2024 to support the Indian Hockey team. However, the Punjab CM was allowed to visit Japan and South Korea in Dec 2025. The Aam Aadmi Party had in Aug 2025 said that four of its Punjab ministers, including the CM, had been denied permission for foreign tours.
The MEA had also turned down a request by Mamata Banerjee, the then CM of West Bengal, in September 2021, when she wanted to attend the World Peace Conference in Rome stating that the status of the event was not commensurate to the status of a CM. The Trinamool Congress chief and her party leaders had expressed their frustration on social media over the denial. Banerjee had also not got approval for her planned visit Chicago in 2018. In 2017, there were reports that she had been denied permission for a visit to China. However, the MEA had categorically denied that it had received any request from the then CM for the visit.
Another opposition leader on the ‘denial’ list is AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal. Back in Oct 2019, when Kejriwal was Delhi chief minister, he had been denied MEA nod for a visit to Denmark to attend the C40 climate summit. The MEA had reportedly stated that the event was meant for mayors of various cities not for CMs. Subsequently, he had also not got approval for his visit to Singapore in 2022. Kejriwal’s deputy CM Manish Sisodia was also denied permission in Nov 2018 to visit Austria. In Aug 2018, Sisodia had claimed his request to visit Moscow had been denied. The MEA had later approved his Russia visit. Another minister in Kejriwal’s govt, Satyaneder Jain was not allowed to visit Australia in Nov 2018.
In Nov 2025, Pinarayi Vijayan, the then Kerala CM, did not get political clearance for a visit to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman. He was supposed to hold official and diaspora meetings in these countries, which have large immigrant population from Kerala. This was the second time when he was not allowed to visit Gulf countries. In 2023, a meeting in Saudi Arabia was cancelled after he did not get clearance from MEA.
During the UPA rule, the MEA had denied political clearance to a planned trip by Congress leader and then Assam CM Tarun Gogoi to the US for a high-level meeting in April 2012. He had also been denied permission to visit Israel. The then UPA govt had also denied Jharkhand CM Arjun Munda a nod to visit Thailand.
What is political clearance? The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) grants to political clearnace. This is required to public servants and government servants for a foreign trip. The MEA takes decision whether to give political clearance or not based on multiple factors including the nature of the event, the kind of invitation, visiting country and its relations with India etc.
What clearances do a chief ministers require to travel abroad? Many CMs of states visiting countries to attract investments. Chief Ministers are required to inform the Cabinet Secretariat as well as the MEA about any foreign visit, be it official or private. Prior political clearance and FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) clearance is also mandatory. They also inform and get clearance from the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA). The DEA and the ministry concerned will entertain an application only if political clearance from the MEA is attached with the request. Without this clearance, no public servant can go abroad.
