AFP/Washington
A panel yesterday urged the US to maintain a ban on a visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over anti-Muslim riots, even though he is a favourite to run for prime minister.
In a wide-ranging annual report, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said that Modi should be “inadmissible to the US” due to “severe violations of religious freedom.”
“There is significant evidence linking him to the violence and the terrible events that took place in Gujarat and for this reason, a visa would not be appropriate,” Katrina Lantos Swett, chair of the Commission, told reporters on a conference call.
Modi was the chief minister in 2002 when religious riots broke out that left 2,000 dead, most of them Muslims. One of his former ministers was jailed for life for instigating the killings but several investigations cleared Modi of personal responsibility.
With Gujarat’s economy booming, Modi has tried to rebrand himself as a pro-business reformist and is considered a frontrunner to lead the Bharatiya Janata Party in next year’s national elections.
The US State Department has refused to let Modi visit. But it has faced growing calls to change its position, with three junior Republican members of Congress visiting Gujarat in March and urging a visa for Modi.