By IANS,
Gandhinagar : Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has no plans to seek a US visa after the change of guard at the White House, an official said here Thursday.
Modi has not made any request for a visa to visit the US as he has no plans to go to that country in the near future, an official at the Chief Minister’s Office said in a press release here Thursday.
“The chief minister would not ask for a visa from the new administration in the US. He has no immediate plans to travel to the US right now. The chief minister has extended his greetings to the new president (Barack Obama) when he took over office,” the official said.
The statement came after speculation that Modi could visit the US with the new administration taking office.
The Bush administration had refused to grant visa to Modi in 2005, when he wanted to attend a diaspora meet there. The administration cited alleged human rights violations in Gujarat, especially during and after the communal violence in 2002.
Modi was invited to the World Gujarati Conference held in New Jersey in August, but he had to be content addressing the audience through video-conferencing.
His office had then said the chief minister, although desirous of attending the conference, had not applied for visa.
A section of the non-resident Indians (NRIs) from Gujarat settled in the US have campaigned to allow him to travel to the US.