Modi chickens out of US tour - Thanks to Coalition against Genocide

[See the PTI report below in the Hindu on the CAG campaign to keep the US visa ban on Modi. So the letter to Rice and wide publicity in the media has done the job, Great. ]

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The Hindu
Saturday, July 5, 2008 : 2040 Hrs

Modi's detractors claim victory at refusal to seek US visa

New York (PTI): NGOs canvassing against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US have claimed that the BJP leader's decision not to seek visa to attend an upcoming conference in the country was a victory for "secular" forces.

Modi was invited by the organisers of a major Gujarati world conference being held in New Jersey in August. The United States had denied him visa to attend the last conference in 2005 and he had addressed the delegates through a video link.

In a statement, Coordinator of Coalition against Genocide Shiak Ubaid said their aim now is to expose the organisations in the United States controlled or influenced by "Hindutva fascists."

The Indian American groups across the United States are sharply divided over the invitation to Modi.

While some organisations are working behind the scene mounting pressure on the US government to grant him visa to attend the meet, the Coalition Against Genocide, an umbrella organisation of some 25 bodies, has written a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking her to deny visa to the chief minister.