No offence meant but can’t let Modi in: US

While regretting the US decision, New Delhi said ‘‘democratic tradition and practice must uphold the dignity of political office that is by a result of elections and has the mandate of the people of that country or state.’’

Earlier, Mulford, in his statement, said: ‘‘The Ministry of External Affairs requested the Department of State to review the decision to revoke his (Modi’s) tourist/business visa. Upon review, the State Department reaffirmed the original decision.’’

He clarified that the decision applied only to Modi and not to the BJP or the Gujarati community.

Mulford pointed out that the decision was based on the fact that as head of the Gujarat government between February and May 2002, ‘‘he (Modi) was responsible for the performance of state institutions at that time’’.

The State Department’s detailed views on this matter, he said, were included in its annual country reports on human rights practices and the International Religious Freedom Report.

Both reports document the violence in Gujarat from February to May 2002 and cite the Indian National Human Rights Commission report which, Mulford said, records that there was ‘‘comprehensive failure on the part of the state government to control the persistent violation of rights to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the people of the state.’’

Mulford said that the US was ‘‘deeply appreciative of the role that the BJP and the Vajpayee government in particular, played in opening the way for the positive transformation in US-India relations’’.

He underlined that this decision also had no bearing on the Gujarati community, noting that the US has ‘‘great respect’’ for the many successful Gujaratis who live and work in that country. Thousands of these Gujaratis are issued visas each month, he said.

Pointing to the growth in Indo-US ties, Mulford said that the denial of visa to Modi does not in any manner undermine the vision both countries share about a broad strategic relationship in the future.

He said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has spelt out this vision which seeks to help India achieve its goals as one of the ‘‘world’s great multi-ethnic democracies’’.

The US had denied a diplomatic visa to Modi last Friday on the grounds that he was coming for a purpose that did not merit this type of a visa. Modi was to address a conference hosted by the Asian-American Hoteliers Association. He had been granted political clearance by New Delhi.

The US also cancelled Modi’s tourist/business visa under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act which makes any foreign government official who has been ‘‘responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom’’ ineligible for visa.

India had objected to the US decision and Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran had called US Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Blake to convey this as well as seek an ‘‘urgent reconsideration’’. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, speaking in Parliament, had also asked Washington to review its decision.

India made it clear that though it was the sovereign right of a country to grant visas, it did not find the US decision in keeping with the objectives both countries shared as democracies.