U.S. Congressman Campaigns to Invite Narendra Modi

Chicago: A U.S. Congressman who has mounted a campaign to revoke the ban on an American visa for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi says in the "trying economic times" the U.S. "could learn a great deal from him".

"Mr Modi has been recognized across the world for his staunch stance against corruption and for making Gujarat a shining example of the successes that pro-growth, limited government policies can create. In the U.S.'s trying economic times, we could learn a great deal from him. Instead of denying him a visa, we should be inviting him to apply," Republican Congressman Joe Walsh, who represents Illinois' 8th district from the Chicago area, told IANS in an interview.

In recent months, at the urging of his particularly vocal Indian American constituents, Congressman Walsh has stepped up his campaign to end the seven-year-old ban by writing to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. In a letter dated June 13, 2012, Mr Walsh said, "The basis on which Mr Modi was denied a diplomatic visa was unfounded and not in compliance with U.S. law."

Mr Walsh is a controversial figure known for his strong anti-big government views and is seen as a favorite of the Tea Party movement, implacably opposed to the Obama administration generally and President Barack Obama personally. In certain sections of Chicago's Indian American community, particularly those who support Mr Modi, he is a popular figure.

The ban on Mr Modi was imposed in 2005 when George W Bush was president and has been continued by his successor Barack Obama. It was imposed under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act relating to foreign government officials "who have committed particularly severe violations of religious freedom." In the case of the Gujarat chief minister, the 2002 Gujarat riots, in which hundreds of Muslims were killed, were the primary cause that triggered this particular section.