A high-profile American delegation, comprising parliamentarians and businessmen, on Thursday met Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who was denied visa by the US over the issue of post-Godhra riots, here and invited him to visit their country.
The 24-member delegation, comprising US Congress Representatives Aaron Schock, Cynthia lummis and Cathy M Rodgers, said that Modi’s leadership was instrumental in bringing about economic development and improvement in quality of life in Gujarat.
Congressman Aaron Schock told reporters later that the delegation has extended an invitation to the Chief Minister to visit the USA. It was Schock who had congratulated Modi in the US House of Representatives after his impressive victory in the 2012 Assembly elections.
Asked if this invitation meant that the US State Department had changed its stand over the issue of visa to Modi, Schock said: “Obviously it is a matter of the United States administration but we, along with other Republican lawmakers, will work in that direction with the
“We have invited him to the US to show us some of what he has done here in the State. We were impressed with what we have seen here, specially with his statement of ‘minimum government, maximum governance’. And as a Congressman of the Republican Party, I also believe in limited Government,” he said.
NRI businessman Shalabh Kumar, who was part of the delegation and who is a member of Overseas Friends of BJP, said he expected Modi’s visit to the US as early as June.
Kumar, who was instrumental in arranging the delegation’s visit to India, said: “As an invitation has been extended, we are hopeful that he will visit the US most probably by June, as after that he will get busy in the preparations for general elections.”
The delegation, which is on a ten-day tour of India, began its visit from Gujarat. A presentation showcasing Gujarat’s development and infrastructural projects like the Dholera SIR, Kalpasar and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) were shown to the delegation following which they described Modi’s vision of development as inspirational.
Modi told the delegation that both India and USA are committed to democratic and humanitarian values and stressed on working hand in hand for strengthening democratic values and battling with problems and challenges of the contemporary world.
The Chief Minister observed that the threat against humanity is increasing day by day.“I feel the time has come for humanitarian powers to join hands to fight terrorism,” Modi commented during his interaction with the US delegation.
“Poverty, unemployment and environmental safety are the other big challenges before global society as these concern the future generations too,” Modi said.
The delegation’s visit to Gujarat will prove fruitful in strengthening the atmosphere of trust between the people of both the countries, Modi told the visitors. State Chief Secretary Varesh Sinha, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister K Kailasnathan and many other senior officials were also present at the meeting with the US delegation.
The Chief Minister hosted a dinner for the delegation which also visited the Sabarmati Ashram and the Akshardham complex. After Gujarat, the delegation would also visit other places like Delhi, Bangalore, Tirupati, Agra, Udaipur, Jaipur and Amritsar.