The United States has said that Gujarat Chief Minister is “welcome to apply for a visa” to visit America even while maintaining that there is no change in its thinking on the matter as yet.
The issue has assumed importance with the recent meeting that a delegation of American lawmakers and businessmen had with Modi in Gandhinagar recently after which an Indian-American business leader that they were trying to get Modi to visit the US as early as June.
Fielding questions, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland came out in support of the Congressional delegation’s visit to Gujarat. As she put it, “Visits like this do help support a deepening of business-to-business ties, of people-to-people ties, across India, in Gujarat.”
“So from our perspective, the more congressional delegations that visit India and understand its dynamism and diversity, the more likely we are to continue to deepen those important ties,” Nuland said.
As for the visa issue relating to Modi, she commented: “Our lines have not changed here. He is welcome to apply.”
When asked about the “welcome to apply” phraseology even while maintaining there is no change in policy over visa for Modi, Nuland said: “Well, there is no change, that he is welcome to apply. All visa decisions are made on a case by case basis, and I’m not going to prejudge it here….We’ve said
at all points that like any other visa applicant he’s welcome to apply and we’ll review the case on the merits.”