March, 19 2005	Saturday	08 Safar 1426

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WASHINGTON, March 18: The United States on Friday revoked the visa issued to the Chief Minister of Indian state of Gujarat, Narendra Modi.

“We revoked his tourist and business visa under the US Immigration and Nationality Act, section 212(a)(2)(g),” a State Department official told Dawn.

“This section of the act makes any foreign government official who was responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom, ineligible for a US visa,” the official said. “He already had a visa in his passport and we revoked that.”

The official said the law was ‘pretty clear’ to what constitutes violation of religious freedom. “It is very clear, we believe that he is responsible as head of the state government for performance of state institutions and this is particularly in respect to the violence in Gujarat from Feb to May 2002,” the State Department official said.

Jawed Naqvi adds from New Delhi: The Indian foreign ministry expressed the government’s “deep concern and regret that the embassy of the United States of America has denied a visa to Shri Narendra Modi, honourable chief minister of Gujarat to visit the US for an event organized by the Asian-American Hotel Owners’ Association.”

“This action on the part of the US embassy is uncalled-for and displays lack of courtesy and sensitivity towards a constitutionally elected chief minister of a state of India,” the statement said.

“The ministry of external affairs has called the head of mission of the (US) embassy to the ministry to lodge a strong protest against the denial of visa to Shri Narendra Modi and to request an urgent reconsideration.”