Narendra Modi shall not be granted US visa, says American official

Washington: A top American official has opposed the grant of visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi because of the "very serious" doubts that remain over his role in the "horrific" 2002 riots in Gujarat. "Modi shall not be granted the privilege of US visa because of the very serious doubts that remain and that hang over Modi relative to his role in the horrific events of 2002 in Gujarat," said Katrina Lantos Swett, vice chairwoman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. The bipartisan government commission reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations and makes policy recommendations to the US President, the secretary of State and Congress.

"There are many, many unanswered questions that remain, there are at are many grave allegations, there are huge doubts," she was quoted as saying by the New York Times. When asked about the possibility of Mr Modi's nomination as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate for the next Lok Sabha polls, she said, "It is no outside nation's or no individual's role to tell them who should be the next leader of India." "For the people of India, I think it is important for them to consider very carefully who it is who they want to be their next prime minister," she added.

In 2005, the US denied Mr Modi a diplomatic visa and revoked his existing tourist/business visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which makes a foreign government official who is responsible for particularly severe violations of religious freedom ineligible for an American visa, the NYT said.  "Obviously what happened in 2002 in Gujarat was sectarian violence on a really massive scale. I don't think you can say that that wasn't a religious issue. It was a religious issue and the 2005 visa denial harks back to that," she said. Mr Modi has been lobbying hard to get the decision reversed.

During a recent visit to the US, BJP president Rajnath Singh had said he would request for a review of visa ban on Mr Modi. When pointed out that courts have not yet found any evidence of Mr Modi's involvement in the 2002 riots, Ms Swett said: "Certainly in our system of justice you can be found not guilty, which is not the same thing as found innocent." "Under these circumstances we should follow our laws, which say that we should not give a visa. Of course Modi wants us to reverse our position because that would be part of his rehabilitation process," she said.

"One of the things that concern us is that Modi seems more concerned with rehabilitating his own reputation than with providing recompense and rehabilitation for the surviving victims of those terrible events," she added.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/narendra-modi-shall-not-be-granted-us-visa-says-american-official-406670?pfrom=home-otherstories

Caught On Tape – Gujarat Minister & Top Officials Admit Influencing Ishrat Jahan Investigation

Tapes linked with Ishrat case appear to be genuine: CBI

CBI has claimed that the tapes carrying purported conversations of Gujarat government officials discussing ways to save Ishrat Jahan case accused are not doctored. CBI sources said the tapes provided by one of the accused Gujarat police officer to the agency have not been edited and prima-facie appear to be genuine. They said that in order to understand whether the voices in the tapes are of those to whom they have been attributed, the agency would require court's intervention. There are people in the conversation which are purportedly Gujarat government officials identified by some witnesses and accused during their questioning, they said. Any comparison of the voices in the tapes with the suspected participants can only be done with the voice samples which can be taken only after court's permission, they said. The sources said the person who is approached with the request for the voice sample has to give his consent which is mandatory. They, however, claimed that these tapes are legally admissible evidence in the court.

Mostly these conversations relate to SIT investigation and planning in its aftermath. The sources said the agency is likely to use the conversations in the tapes, which have already been submitted to trial court in Ahmedabad in sealed covered, to give details of the conspiracy which led to the encounter nine years ago. They said the agency is working on its supplementary charge sheet which might name some of the intelligence officers as accused and also the larger conspiracy behind the encounter in which 19-year-old Ishrat and three others Javed Sheikh, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in June, 2004. It has been able to get detailed information about Ishrat and Javed as it included the statements of their relatives and people known to them in the charge sheet filed on July 3. The agency is also working on to get the antecedents of Johar and Rana and announced reward in Kashmir newspapers to anyone who can give information about their background. CBI has in its charge sheet neither given any details about the antecendents of the duo nor the motive of their presence in Gujarat. CBI accused seven police officers of Gujarat Police of murder, kidnapping and other related crimes under the Indian Penal Code.