Telangana CM Revanth Reddy’s visit to the United States potentially included a meeting with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s visit to the United States potentially included a meeting with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on August 26, a tentative itinerary accessed by The Indian Express suggests.The Chief Minister’s Office, when contacted, said the meeting was “tentative”. “There are a lot of events which are added to the schedule. No official communication was exchanged between the Mayor of New York and CM’s office,” the CMO said.On why permission was denied for Reddy’s US visit, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had told the media on Friday, “Clearance was given for his visit to the United Kingdom. Let me say that the visit of chief ministers, as indeed of other dignitaries, is assessed by the Ministry of External Affairs to accord political clearance. The program proposed, in such cases, should be appropriate to the office held and the purpose of the visit. In this particular case, that was not so in respect of the United States, and therefore the clearance was denied.”On Saturday, the potential meeting snowballed into a row in Telangana. Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), the primary opposition, asked whether the Centre denied permission to Reddy because he may have met Mamdani. “What does ‘inappropriate’ mean? Centre and state government must explain the cancellation of CM’s US visit,” BRS MLC Dr Dasoju Sravan said.”Arvind Dharmapuri, the BJP MP from Nizamabad, also waded into the development, saying, “Telangana deserves to know, what business did Revanth Reddy have with Mamdani? Just days ago, Mamdani skipped NYC’s main India Day Parade but attended a Pakistan Day event and publicly praised the Pakistani community and its roots.”“Mamdani previously also wrote a personal letter, expressing solidarity, to Umar Khalid, an accused booked under the UAPA in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case,” he said.The itinerary also indicates Reddy was supposed to meet and greet the Indian community at a programme organised by the Indian Overseas Congress.Story continues below this adReddy was also supposed to visit Harvard University on August 25, where an MoU was to be signed, as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus, the Northeastern University, and Viginia Tech.The CM had earlier instructed the delegation to proceed with the US tour and to sign MoUs with top educational institutions in his absence. About his visit to the US, he had said, “The only purpose of the visit was to, as part of the Centre’s new education policy, bring the world’s best institutions to India, to Telangana, to Hyderabad. They would have been an answer to our youth’s aspirations to get education, skills, and training from the best Ivy Leagues and top global institutions.”“We will make Hyderabad a global knowledge hub. The creation of universities from Osmania to HCU to JNTU et al made Hyderabad a hub for the best human resources. A single school, Hyderabad Public School, has shown how we can lead the world, producing some of the greatest tech leaders. The start of IIT, ISB, IIIT, and NALSAR helped Hyderabad attract top corporations and their GCCs. Now, we will make Hyderabad the home for the world’s greatest education and skills institutions to power our 21st century journey,” he said.Reddy said his resolve was to make Hyderabad one of the top global cities, “where any common Indian can get education and certificates from Harvard and Oxford, or MIT and LBS or LSE”. “While most leaders want to send their children abroad, I want to bring the world’s best to India,” he said.Nikhila Henry is an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Hyderabad. With a career spanning 17 years, she has established herself as an authoritative voice on South Indian affairs, specialising in the complex intersections of politics, education, and social justice. Experience & Career: Nikhila commenced her journalism career in 2007 as an education correspondent for The Times of India in Hyderabad,where she gained recognition for her coverage of student politics. Her professional trajectory includes a four-year tenure at The Hindu, where she focused on minority affairs and social welfare. In 2019, she took on a leadership role as the South Bureau Chief for The Quint, where she directed regional coverage across all five South Indian states. Her expansive career also includes a tenure at the BBC in New Delhi and contributions to prestigious international outlets such as The Sunday Times (London) and HuffPost India. Expertise & Focus Areas Nikhila’s reportage is marked by a deep-seated understanding of grassroots movements and institutional policy. Her core focus areas include: Regional Politics: Comprehensive analysis of the socio-political dynamics across South India. Education & Student Movements: Chronicling the evolution of Indian academics and the rise of youth activism. Minority Affairs: Rigorous reporting on the welfare, rights, and challenges facing marginalized communities. National Beat: Elevating regional stories to national prominence through investigative and on-ground reporting. Authoritativeness & Trust A respected figure in Indian media, Nikhila is not only a seasoned reporter but also an accomplished author and editor. She authored the critically acclaimed book The Ferment: Youth Unrest in India and edited Caste is Not a Rumour, a collection of writings by Rohith Vemula. Her dual background in daily news reporting and long-form authorship allows her to provide readers with a nuanced, historically-informed perspective on contemporary Indian society. Find all stories by Nikhila Henry here. ... Read MoreSreenivas Janyala is a Deputy Associate Editor at The Indian Express, where he serves as one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political and economic landscape of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. With a career spanning over two decades in mainstream journalism, he provides deep-dive analysis and frontline reporting on the intricate dynamics of South Indian governance. Expertise and Experience Regional Specialization: Based in Hyderabad, Sreenivas has spent more than 20 years documenting the evolution of the Telugu-speaking states. His reporting was foundational during the historic Telangana statehood movement and continues to track the post-bifurcation development of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Key Coverage Beats: His extensive portfolio covers a vast spectrum of critical issues: High-Stakes Politics: Comprehensive tracking of regional powerhouses (BRS, TDP, YSRCP, and Congress), electoral shifts, and the political careers of figures like K. Chandrashekar Rao, Chandrababu Naidu, and Jagan Mohan Reddy. Internal Security & Conflict: Authoritative reporting on Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), the decline of the Maoist movement in former hotbeds, and intelligence-led investigations into regional security modules. Governance & Infrastructure: Detailed analysis of massive irrigation projects (like Kaleshwaram and Polavaram), capital city developments (Amaravati), and the implementation of state welfare schemes. Crisis & Health Reporting: Led the publication's ground-level coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in South India and major industrial incidents, such as the Vizag gas leak. Analytical Depth: Beyond daily news, Sreenivas is known for his "Explained" pieces that demystify complex regional disputes, such as river water sharing and judicial allocations between the sister states. ... Read More Tags:Revanth Reddy