US Consul General skirts questions on visa to Narendra Modi

AHMEDABAD: US Consul General Peter Haas today skirted questions on granting visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying America does not comment on "private visa matters".

"It's a long-standing US policy... We do not comment on private visa matters," Haas said when asked if there was any change in the US policy with regard to granting of visa to Modi that was denied to him in 2005 in the wake of post-Godhra riots.

Haas was in the city to participate in a graduation ceremony by Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) for a group of women leaders from Kyrgyzstan.

Modi's visa was revoked just two days before his travel to the US in March 2005.

He had alleged at that time that revoking of his visa amounted to "insult" to India and reflected Washington's "effort to show the country in poor light".