US delegation meets Narendra Modi, Invites him to US

GANDHINAGAR/NEW DELHI: A US delegation comprising Republican lawmakers and business leaders has invited Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to visit the country, even as the administration has denied him visa since 2005 for his alleged role in communal riots in the state.

The delegation has also promised to speak to the US administration to arrange a visa for Modi, whose keynote address at the Wharton India Economic Forum was cancelled earlier this month after some students and the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania protested against his inclusion in the light of the 2002 Gujarat riots. “We have invited him to come over to the US and share with us the work that he has done,” said Aaron Schock, the Republican member of the House of Representatives from Illinois, who led the 18-member delegation that held an hour-long meeting with Modi in the state capital on Thursday.

Schock said, “We are grateful to chief minister Narendra Modi. We learnt about the development. It is much easier to do business in Gujarat. Modi is very dynamic person.”

Modi expressed his gratitude to the delegation after the meeting, tweeting, “I spoke to the USA delegation about how Gujarat has adopted a faster, inclusive and environment friendly process of development. Am thankful to the members of USA Congress and business persons for their kind words...”

The delegation, whose visit was facilitated by the US-based Overseas Friends of BJP, included Republicans Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Cynthia Lummis along with business representatives led by Illinois-based NRI businessman and Overseas Friends of BJP member Shalabh Kumar.

When asked about the delegation’s invitation to Modi, an embassy spokesman in Delhi said the US Congress was a legislative branch of the government and it was separate from the executive branch. Responding to a question on how the invitation would fit into the US policy, he said, “We continue to engage with Gujarat across the broad range of issues, including trade, investment, energy, university linkages and people-to-people exchanges. We engage at appropriate levels with the Gujarat government to advance US interests.”