Sticking to its non-committal position on the question of granting visa to Narendra Modi, the United States has said there is no change in its policy, but if the Gujarat Chief Minister does apply for one, his application “will be considered to determine whether he qualifies for a visa in accordance with US immigration law and policy”.
Modi, who was denied a US visa in 2005 over the Gujarat riots three years earlier, has never again applied for the American visa, but the issue has kept coming up every now and then.
“Well, our policy on this has not changed,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday in response to a question following BJP president Rajnath Singh’s recent comments on the subject and the stunning revelations back home about the “forgery” of signatures of several MPs on a petition to US President Barack Obama demanding continued denial of visa to Modi.
“If Chief Minister Modi applies for a visa, his application will be considered to determine whether he qualifies for a visa in accordance with US immigration law and policy,” Psaki said, adding: “As you know, we don’t talk about the specifics of that process or individual cases. But he would, of course, be considered if he were to apply.” When the questioner spoke of the possibility of UPA losing the ensuing lok Sabha elections and Modi becoming the next Prime Minister of India, Psaki commented: “Well, that’s a lot of speculation down the road. We always encourage democratic elections and we don’t take sides, and we’ll be watching it closely.”
“We will consider his application if he applies. And we’re not going to get ahead of where we are at this time,” the spokesperson added. Singh in his comments to the Indian media on Wednesday clarified that he has not raised the issue of visa for Modi with US lawmakers, noting that it was a matter for the US Government to decide.