US may lose ground to Europe in engaging with Narendra Modi

The United States may risk alienating the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi if it continues to restrict his travel to the country and does not engage with him at the level of its ambassador, influential US-based global affairs magazine Foreign Policy has said.

In an article titled ‘Will India’s next leader be banned from America?’, the magazine has argued that the US may lose ground to its allies in Europe if it delays engaging with Modi especially after the BJP’s stellar performance in the recent assembly elections.

Modi was denied a US visa in 2005 due to his alleged role in the 2002 riots in Gujarat when he was chief minister. Although Modi has not applied for a visa since, the US government has repeatedly indicated that its policy of denying him a visa on the grounds of religious freedom violations remains in place.

“If the United States continues to restrict Modi’s travel and freeze him out of diplomatic discussions at the ambassadorial level, it risks alienating an important partner on everything from trade to security to finance to diaspora issues. By contrast, the European Union, Britain, and Germany have all engaged in ambassador-level discussions with Modi. This status quo also risks insulting hundreds of millions of Indians,” the magazine said.

US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell is yet to meet Modi while her counterparts from the UK, France, Germany, EU and Canada have all held discussions with him. The US’ Consul General in Mumbai is the highest ranking diplomat from his country to have Modi so far. The US’ neighbour Canada, on the other hand, has partnered the Modi-led government twice in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, in 2011 and 2013.