Priyank Kharge denied clearance for US trip: Will seek explanation from government

Karnataka's Information Technology and Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge was reportedly denied the necessary clearances to the United States on Tuesday.

Priyank Kharge was scheduled to lead the state delegation at BIO 2025 in Boston and the Design and Automation Conference in San Francisco.

The Congress leader was expected to travel with the official team representing the state’s tech ecosystem. However, the required clearances did not materialise in time, forcing him to drop out of the delegation. The nature of the delay—whether due to a procedural hold-up by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) or an issue on the US side—remains unclear.

Taking to social media platform X, Kharge said, “I’m holding back on making any public statements for now. Once I’m back in Bengaluru, I will seek a clear explanation from the Government of India regarding this denial.”

The minister had earlier attended a conference and Aero Show in Paris, representing Karnataka.