US stands by India on visa denial policy

WASHINGTON: The US has refrained from commenting on allegations that India denied the visa renewal of an Australian journalist, saying New Delhi can speak about its visa policy.

Avani Dias, the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) left India on April 19, and she claimed that she was denied an extension of her visa by the Indian government because of her reports ‘crossed a line’.

“After Australian Government intervention, I got a mere two-month extension... less than 24 hours before my flight,” she said in a post on ‘X’.

“We were also told my election accreditation would not come through because of an Indian Ministry directive. We left on day one of voting in the national election in what Modi calls ‘the mother of democracy’,” she added.

Responding to allegations, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said: “the government of India can speak to its own visa policy. That is not something I am going to opine on.”

“Broadly, we have been clear with countries around the world about the integral role that a free press plays in the fabric of democracy. That is why we come up here and take questions regularly. But I will let the officials in India speak to the specific,” Patel told reporters at a news conference.

Government sources in India said her allegation is incorrect and misleading.

They said Dias was found to have violated visa rules while undertaking her professional pursuits. Despite this, on her request, she was assured that her visa would be extended for the coverage of the general elections, the sources said.

The contention of the ABC correspondent “she was not allowed to cover elections and was compelled to leave the country is not correct, misleading and mischievous,” a source said in New Delhi.