WASHINGTON: The State Department has clarified that a scheduled meeting between US ambassador Nancy Powell and BJP leader Narendra Modi does not indicate a change in Washington's long-standing visa policy.

State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told a briefing in Washington that the meeting would have no affect on America's “strong advocacy for human rights around the world”. She also indicated that the US was effectively holding firm to its 2005 decision to deny Mr Modi an entry visa.

Ms Powell is scheduled to meet Mr Modi, who is also the chief minister of the Gujarat state, on Thursday.

The State Department had earlier refused to issue Mr Modi a diplomatic visa and had also revoked his previous visa because of his alleged links to the 2002 Gujarat riots. Thousands of Muslims were killed in those riots.

Asked to explain why the US felt the need to engage Mr Modi after a nine-year hiatus, Ms Psaki said: “We are often engaged in concentrated outreach to senior political and business leaders. We began doing that months ago, if not years ago... to highlight and continue our US-India relationship. This is an effort in that engagement.” The US official also rejected the suggestion that the Modi-Powell meeting scarcely a few months before general elections was any indication that it was taking a position on Indian politics.

“We don't take positions in elections, and certainly this is not an example of us taking a position. It is just a reflection... of us reaching out to a range of individuals from different backgrounds [and] political affiliations, which we do in countries around the world,” Ms Psaki said.

Ms Psaki repeated the State Department's past position on the visa issue saying , “When individuals apply for a visa, their applications are reviewed in accordance with US law and policy. This is not a reflection of any change... We don't speak to that, given it's private.”

When asked whether BJP's lobbying efforts in the US had led to a change in its position on Mr Modi's visa, Ms Psaki replied, “Not at all.”