Even as it acknowledged that a US congressional delegation’s visit to Gujarat had official sanction, the US said there was no immediate change in its stand on a visa to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, but he is ‘welcome to apply’.
‘Visits like this do help support a deepening of business-to-business ties, of people-to-people ties, across India, in Gujarat,’ State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters on Thursday in response to a question.
‘So from our perspective, the more congressional delegations that visit India and understand its dynamism and diversity, the more likely we are to continue to deepen those important ties,’ she said.
But this did not foretell a change in its policy towards Modi, who has been denied a US visa for his alleged role in the 2002 Gujrat riots, Nuland said. ‘With regard to Mr. Modi, our lines have not changed here. He is welcome to apply,’ she said. But ‘All visa decisions are made on a case by case basis, and I’m not going to prejudge it here.’
The US ambassador to India Nancy J. Powell met the congressional delegation led by Republican member of the House Aaron Schock, Nuland said. But she was not sure if the envoy accompanied the delegation that met Modi on 28 March and invited him to visit. ‘I don't know if our Ambassador accompanied them to Gujarat.
‘Visits like this do help support a deepening of business-to-business ties, of people-to-people ties, across India, in Gujarat,’ State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters on Thursday in response to a question.
‘So from our perspective, the more congressional delegations that visit India and understand its dynamism and diversity, the more likely we are to continue to deepen those important ties,’ she said.
But this did not foretell a change in its policy towards Modi, who has been denied a US visa for his alleged role in the 2002 Gujrat riots, Nuland said. ‘With regard to Mr. Modi, our lines have not changed here. He is welcome to apply,’ she said. But ‘All visa decisions are made on a case by case basis, and I’m not going to prejudge it here.’
The US ambassador to India Nancy J. Powell met the congressional delegation led by Republican member of the House Aaron Schock, Nuland said. But she was not sure if the envoy accompanied the delegation that met Modi on 28 March and invited him to visit. ‘I don't know if our Ambassador accompanied them to Gujarat.