Man poised to lead India barred from entering US

[mota bhai 2,675]

The man poised to lead India -- one of America's staunchest allies in Asia and a nation of more than a billion people -- cannot even legally enter the United States.

In what has triggered a quiet battle on Capitol Hill, advocacy groups and lawmakers are drawing attention to the case of India's Narendra Modi. Though the powerful politician is the front-runner in India's elections next year, he was denied a U.S. visa in 2005 over deadly riots in his state.

...

The trouble with Modi dates back to 2002. Shortly after he was appointed chief minister of the state of Gujarat, a group of Muslims attacked a train carrying Hindus, setting it on fire and killing dozens of people. What resulted were some of the deadliest ethnic riots in India's history. Hindu mobs attacked Muslims throughout the state, and by most estimates more than 1,000 people were killed.

In a controversy that has trailed his political career, Modi was accused by human rights groups of doing little to quell the violence. When he sought to travel to the United States in 2005, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers penned a resolution condemning him for "condoning or inciting bigotry."

Shortly afterward, the State Department denied him a visa, on the grounds of a section of U.S. law barring any foreign official deemed responsible for "severe violations of religious freedom."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/16/man-poised-to-lead-india-barred-from-entering-us/

[Teddy B 17,251]

He should file for a K-1 visa.

[Ban Hammer 12,837]

sounds like he was in a no win situation

[luckytxn 2,263]

When he becomes actually important they will issue a visa.

The man poised to lead India -- one of America's staunchest allies in Asia and a nation of more than a billion people -- cannot even legally enter the United States.

In what has triggered a quiet battle on Capitol Hill, advocacy groups and lawmakers are drawing attention to the case of India's Narendra Modi. Though the powerful politician is the front-runner in India's elections next year, he was denied a U.S. visa in 2005 over deadly riots in his state.

...

The trouble with Modi dates back to 2002. Shortly after he was appointed chief minister of the state of Gujarat, a group of Muslims attacked a train carrying Hindus, setting it on fire and killing dozens of people. What resulted were some of the deadliest ethnic riots in India's history. Hindu mobs attacked Muslims throughout the state, and by most estimates more than 1,000 people were killed.

In a controversy that has trailed his political career, Modi was accused by human rights groups of doing little to quell the violence. When he sought to travel to the United States in 2005, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers penned a resolution condemning him for "condoning or inciting bigotry."

Shortly afterward, the State Department denied him a visa, on the grounds of a section of U.S. law barring any foreign official deemed responsible for "severe violations of religious freedom."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/16/man-poised-to-lead-india-barred-from-entering-us/

[mota bhai 2,675]

sounds like he was in a no win situation

He could have helped himself a little by issuing public statements like "murder is bad, dont kill people, we like peace, blah blah".

Instead, he said things like "i understand why people are angry" etc.

Public statements are meaningless but his statements made him a lot of enemies.

Edited December 16, 2013 by mota bhai