By Our Representative
A former campaigner for denying visa to Gujarat chief
minister Narendra Modi, who worked with the Amnesty International and in the
United States Congress, has said the recent bipartisan Congressional resolution (click HERE) introduced in the House of Representatives calling on the US government to
continue the policy of denying him visa may not go through. In a New York Times (NYT) article, Zahir Janmohamed says, House Resolution 417, which urges the
United States government to continue to deny Modi a visa, with 28 co-sponsors, majority
of whom are Democrats, “is not expected to pass, partly because India is not
seen as a priority in American foreign policy at the moment.”
At the same time, the analyst, who claims to have access to
inside information about the policy which the US government may apply on Modi
if he comes to power, believes that there will be an uneasy relationship with
him. Referring to a meeting with a person who was appointed to a senior
position by President Barrack Obama, Janmahomed quotes the official as telling him,
“I know it is a cliché, but our talking point on India has always been, ‘India
and the US are both democracies that share the same values’. You cannot really
apply that statement to Modi. If Modi becomes prime minister, I guess we will
have to come up with something new to say.”
Headlined “U.S. Evangelicals, Indian Expats Teamed Up to
Push Through Modi Visa Ban”, the article says, among the chief campaigners for
denying Modi visa was also the person who sponsored the International Religious
Freedom Act, Frank Wolf, a Republican from Virginia, in March 1998. The clause that
proved “fateful” was Section 604: “Any alien who, while serving as a
foreign official, was responsible or directly carried out, at any time during
the preceding 24-month period, particularly severe violations of religious
freedom, as defined in Section 3 of the International Religious Freedom Act
1998 and the spouse and children, if any, are inadmissible.”
While Wolf remains in the forefront to oppose visa to Modi,
the ex-campaigner believes that the mood in the US towards Modi is changing. And
for this, Janmohamed quotes Joseph Grieboski, the founder of the Institute
on Religion and Public Policy in Virginia. Grieboski tells him, “When the
US denied Modi a visa in 2005, it was
like the US denying a visa to the governor of Iowa — no offense to Gujarat… The
US did not see it as a big deal. And back then, it seemed clear to everyone in
this town that Modi was involved in the riots. Now the picture is fuzzier, and
many are intrigued by Modi.”
Things have changed so much that a Indian-born retired health
professional based in Berkeley, California,Raju Rajagopal, who was among the top persons who campaigned
to deny Modi a visa and was part of a group which came to Gujarat following the
2002 riots along with Indian-born Washington-based evangelical Christian named
John Prabhudoss and two Republican Congressmen, is now frustrated that his
efforts are not succeeding. “Despite the success in denying Modi a US visa,
disillusionment quickly set in for Rajagopal. “The frustrating thing was that the
visa denial was probably the only thing really dealt a blow to Modi,” Rajagopal
is quoted as saying. “I just wish it had been brought about by a large, secular
coalition. I am not so sure that is true. The thing that made a difference was
the right-wing evangelical support.”
No doubt, the American government’s stance on Modi remains
the same, as seen in the statement two days after Modi was selected on Sept.
13, 2013 as the official prime ministerial candidate to represent the BJP. “There’s
no change in our longstanding visa policy,” said Marie Harf, a State Department
spokeswoman. “He is welcome to apply for a visa and await a review like
any other applicant.” Yet, the fact is, insists Janmohamed, “These days,
religious freedom is no longer a foreign policy priority in
Washington, and the strong evangelical Christian opposition to Modi has faded.”
“While Republicans led the opposition to Modi’s visa in
2005, there are now Republicans among Modi’s strongest supporters. When the Tea
Party candidate Joe Walsh campaigned in Illinois for Congress, he promised he
would push the United States to grant Modi a visa. (He lost to his Democratic
challenger, Tammy Duckworth.)”, Janmohamed says, adding, “In March, three
Republicans members of Congress visited Modi in Gujarat,
including Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state. The trip for Rodgers and her husband cost $15,000 and
was paid for by the co-founder of the National Indian American Public
Policy Institute, Shalli Kumar, a supporter of Modi based in Chicago.”
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