US Consul General Peter Haas on Tuesday skirted question on granting of visa to Gujarat Chief minister Narendra Modi, saying that they “do not comment on personal visa matters”.
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.
“Its 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 communal riots.
Modi’s visa was revoked just two days before his travel to the US in March 2005.
Modi had alleged at that time that revoking of his visa, amounted to an “insult” to India and reflected Washington’s effort to show the country in poor light.
PTI