Himalayan News Service

Gandhinagar, March 21:

Denied a visa by the US, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi told his supporters in New Jersey through videoconferencing today that Washington’s decision was an insult to India. “An attempt has been made to put a black mark on the face of mother India,” Modi told the gathering organised by the Association of Indian Americans for North America. Modi’s comments came after the US embassy in New Delhi on Friday announced it was revoking his tourist and business visa and not issuing a diplomatic visa to enable him visit the US, blaming him for the 2002 Gujarat violence.

The Indian government has slammed the decision and asked Washington to review it. Modi lauded this. “Prime minister Manmohan Singh has responded in the most appropriate manner. This is not a question of one individual, but of the pride of India,” he said. Modi was to visit the US for six days beginning March 26 to address a public meeting in New York and attend the inaugural meet of the Asian-American Hotel Owners’ Association (AAHOA). Modi said by denying him a visa, the US administration had bowed to the pressures of an “anti-India” lobby of NGOs. He asked the Indian community in the US to counter what he called the misinformation campaign by these groups.

“I sympathise with you, I can understand how you feel about the visa denial,” Modi said during the videoconference. “It is unfortunate that theocratic states and military dictatorships are scoring better in international diplomacy. You will have to ensure that opinions about your motherland are not formed on the basis of propaganda but after verification of facts. “The principles of democracy are based on justice and the course of justice necessarily involves the process of natural justice,” Modi said.

“India has a great past and today it is at the threshold of a great future. You are the carriers and protectors of Indian pride. Remember, you are the very best in the world, in business, in enterprise, in innovation, in every way. No one can match our spirit He invited non-resident Gujaratis to invest in their homeland.