US thaws to Narendra Modi, Ambassador Powell to meet him

With most pre-election polls showing the Bharatiya Janata Party's Narendra Modi as front runner for the Indian prime ministership after the upcoming general elections, Washington is taking significant steps to end his ostracism ever since the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

Nancy Powell, the US ambassador to India, will meet Gujarat Chief Minister Modi on Thursday. The meeting, scheduled in Gandhinagar, would put the US in line with European nations, which have already ended a boycott of Modi.

A US State Department official confirmed the appointment between Modi and Powell, saying, "This is part of our concentrated outreach to senior political and business leaders which began in November to highlight the US-India relationship."

On the grant of a visa to Modi, who was banned from visiting the United States, the official said, "There has been no change in our longstanding visa policy.  When individuals apply for a US visa, their applications are reviewed in accordance with US law and policy. We do not speculate about outcomes of that process."

While the United States has little leeway to change its course on the visa issue unless Modi again applies to travel to that country, AFP has quoted a congressional aide as saying that the meeting with Powell would send a signal of US openness on the matter.

"A meeting with the ambassador could be a way of signalling, 'You'll get a visa,' without having to say it, which she can't," the aide told AFP on condition of anonymity.

In 2005, the United States had, under domestic laws related to human rights, denied Modi a visa saying that the Gujarat chief minister was "responsible for the (lack of) performance of state institutions" during the communal riots in his state.

Human rights groups and political rivals allege that Modi turned a blind eye to the riots, which killed hundreds of people, mostly Muslims. Modi has denied wrongdoing and a Supreme Court monitored investigation has cleared him of charges of complicity.

Modi has sought to portray himself as a business-savvy leader who can champion India's economy and tackle corruption after a decade of rule by the left-leaning Congress party.