E-Paper
Invitation by US lawmakers still doesn’t mean visa for Gujarat CM
The US may appear torn on mending fences with the leader of India’s most internationally trending state Gujarat, but it is not ready for a change of policy yet. Yashwant Raj reports.
The US may appear torn on mending fences with the leader of India’s most internationally trending state Gujarat, but it is not ready for a change of policy yet.
Not even an invitation from US congressmen, extended to him by a visiting delegation on Thursday, can guarantee chief minister Narendra Modi a visa to visit their country. The policy remains unchanged.
Welcoming the visit by the congressional delegation, a state department spokesperson said “there is no change in our visa policy and an invitation from a US lawmaker has no bearing on any decision regarding potential visas”.
Modi, the spokesperson said, is “welcome to apply for a visa and await a review like any other applicant”. That review will be “grounded in US laws”. In other words, nothing seemingly has changed since 2005.
Cong targets Modi
Slamming Modi over the alleged funding of the visit of three members of the US Congress, the Congress said it is a matter of ‘shame’ and that the funds could have been utilised for the welfare of the downtrodden.
