WASHINGTON, Feb 15: A bipartisan working group at the US Congress is asking Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to deny visa to the chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, Narendra Modi.

Mr Modi is the planned chief guest of the 2005 Annual Convention and Trade Show of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to be held on March 24 to 26. Many Indian hotel-owners in the US are from Gujarat and strongly support the BJP government in the Indian state.

The Institute on Religion and Public Policy, a Washington-based advocacy group for religious freedom, is circulating a letter among prominent individuals and rights groups asking them to oppose Mr Modi's visit and urge the US State Department to deny him a visa.