The upcoming meeting between Nancy Powell, U.S. envoy to India, and Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, a western Indian state, indicates a shift in stance on America's part. It is predicted that it might end the boycott of Modi, whose alleged involvement in 2002 communal riots in India prompted the U.S. to deny him a visa since 2005.
Powell and Modi, the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, will discuss the upcoming elections and his vision for India in Gandhinagar, the state capital, Thursday, sources revealed to the Indian Express, a national daily. However, Jen Psaki, the State Department spokesperson, told reporters Tuesday that the meeting was a part of an outreach effort to engage senior political and business leaders in order to improve U.S.-India relationship.
Underplaying the significance of the meeting, Psaki said all important people required to take a decision were involved in the process. But, it was unclear whether Secretary of State John Kerry or President Barack Obama were involved. "These decisions don't always rise up to every highest level. But certainly, all relevant individuals who needed to weigh in weighed in, and agreed that it was certainly an appropriate meeting to have," Psaki told reporters, reports The Economic Times citing Press Trust of India.
Clarifying that the Powell-Modi meet will not change the U.S. stance toward the Indian prime ministerial candidate, Psaki said that they have not decided on such a policy change at the moment. "This is an effort in that engagement," Psaki said.
"Well, there has been no change in our longstanding visa policy," she said. "Nothing has changed about our visa policy. This is not a reflection of that changing, and certainly not a reflection of anything changing regarding our longstanding and strong advocacy for human rights around the world," Psaki said, reports another Indian newspaper, DNA citing the Indo-Asian News Service.
According to The Hindustan Times, the U.S. ambassador's talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party leader would focus on bilateral ties rather than on Modi's U.S. visa.
The U.S. denied Modi a visa in 2005 for his failure to stop communal violence in Gujarat in 2002. Following the riots, Modi faced a boycott from the U.S. as well as European nations. However, last year Britain ended the informal boycott and later other countries followed suit, reports Reuters.
