Gandhi Nagar: The US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell had met the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP for 2014 Narendra Modi on Thursday.
The meeting had been took place at the residence of Narendra Modi in Gandhi Nagar.
Notify that it is the first high profile meeting between Modi and a US official after US State Department revoked visa of Narendra Modi in 2005 on grounds of “sever violations of religious freedom” in Gujarat.
However, the visa issue is unlikely to figure in the talks. For the record, the US has said that there is no change in its visa policy and Narendra Modi is free to apply again.
Spokesperson of State Department Jen Psaki told, “When individuals apply for a visa, their applications are reviewed in accordance with US law and policy. This is not a reflection of any change…This is simply a meeting happening on the ground in India. It’s not a reflection of anything else than outreach to a broad range of officials.”
Sources however claimed that Narendra Modi is in no hurry to apply for a US visa. The US can also breathe easy, for now, as revoking of the ban at this juncture would have had exposed it to risk of being accused of aiding Modi ahead of the polls.
It has been buzzing in the political scenario that US has been forced to shake hands with Modi is the growing possibility of him taking over as the next prime minister of the country.
Over the years, the US and India have forged closer ties on a number of issues and are now ‘strategic partners’ with bilateral trade standing close to $100 billion.
Clearly, the US does not want to be on the wrong side of the fence if the BJP rides to power.
Also, the US was getting increasingly isolated over its continued ban on Modi, especially after its allies in Europe embraced him.
On the meeting of US Ambassador with Narendra Modi, BJP leader said, “America had no other option but to approach Narendra Modi in a friendly manner that was the demand of democracy.”
Bureau Report
Leave a Reply