IndiaPost.com - 27 lawmakers urge State Dept to deny US visa to Modi

NEW YORK: The Coalition Against Genocide (CAG), a US-based organization formed in the wake of the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, has garnered the support of at least 27 US lawmakers to urge the US State Department to continue the ban on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi from entering the United States.

The CAG, which had successfully campaigned against Modi in 2005, when he was to attend a Gujarati convention in the US, has been widely campaigning on Capitol Hill over the past couple of months ever since there was a move by some of the Gujarati American community to invite Modi for a convention in the US this year.

The 27 lawmakers led by Congressman Joseph Pitts (R-PA) have urged the State Department to once again reaffirm its decision to deny Modi a US visa. It was reported earlier that the Gujarat Chief Minister might apply for a visa to attend the World Gujarati Conference in New Jersey from August 29-31 on the invitation of Gujarati businessmen. Congressman Joseph Pitts and the other co-signers urged the State Department, in the letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, to take note of the serious human rights violations, persecution of minorities and total disregard of religious freedom practiced in direct contravention of International Human Rights norms and treaties by the BJP Government in Gujarat.

They drew specific attention to the "plight of the 100,000 victims of genocide unable to return to their homes, followed by the continuous attempts to obstruct a legitimate and fair trial to bring the perpetrators of the 2002 communal genocide to justice". "Mr. Modi and his administration closed the files on over 2,000 police cases where the victims filed reports of rapes, killings and destruction of their property" noted the letter.

The letter also draws attention to the State Department Report on the Gujarat Government's purported promotion of Nazi Ideology. This letter comes close on the heels by similar letters written by Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN), Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA) and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urging similar action against Modi, who has been characterized as the architect of the pogroms in 2002 against the Muslim community by several Citizens' panels and Human Rights organizations in India and abroad.

In his letter to Secretary Rice, Congressman Joe Sestak, a democrat from Pennsylvania, outlined the complicity of Modi's administration in the religious persecution of minorities: "Numerous inquiries by Indian officials and non-governmental organizations have determined that the state government in Gujarat, led by Chief Minister Modi, provided leadership and material support for the rape and murder of women and young children, and the destruction of homes, business and resources primarily belong to Indian Muslims," Sestak's letter states.

Following the CAG campaign, Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) as well as the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) weighed in with the State Department on continuing the entry ban on Modi.

In her letter dated July 8, to Secretary Rice, Rep. McCollum said, "In light of Mr. Modi's long documented record of violations of religious freedom in India, I am writing to urge the Department of State to deny Mr. Modi a visa to enter the United States." Congresswoman Betty McCollum is a senior Democratic whip of the House Democratic Caucus and a key figure in US foreign policy. She serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the State Department and Foreign Operations and the House Oversight & Government Reforms Subcommittee on National Security & Foreign Affairs.

Following Modi's invitation to attend conferences in the US in 2005, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom had urged the State Department to revoke Modi's US tourist visa, and the State Department had revoked his visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Last month, the Commission has once again urged the State Department to announce Modi's ineligibility for a visa under the terms of the INA. CAG constitutes some 25 different US based organizations which have collectively endorsed the campaign against Modi's visit to the US.