Amid massive protests over proposed visit of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to the United States, Washington has denied visa to the chief minister for a trip to the country owing to widespread riots and minorities’ pogrom in the state.
Modi has been denied diplomatic visa and his tourist/business visa already granted has also been revoked under a section of US Immigration and Nationality Act, said a news report here on Friday, quoting spokesman of the US Embassy.
It prohibits anybody who was "responsible for or directly carried out at anytime, particularly severe violations of religious freedom,", added the report. The chief minister was slated to pay a five-day visit to US from March 20 and some Indian-American groups had threatened to organise protests against him.
"We can confirm that Chief Minister of Gujarat state Narendra Modi applied for but was denied the diplomatic visa under section 214 (b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act because he was not coming for the purpose that qualified for diplomatic visa," the spokesman added. "His tourist/business visa was revoked under section 212 (a) (2) (g) of the Act which makes any government official who was responsible for or directly carried out at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom, ineligible for visa," he maintained.
"Modi as chief minister was responsible for the performance of state institutions at the time in Gujarat," US embassy spokesman David Kennedy told AFP. During the visit billed by the organisers as a "business trip", Modi was to address the Asian-American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) in Fort Lauderade, Florida, a public meeting in New York and meet business leaders. |
