India’s new leader invited to U.S.
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama congratulated new Indian leader Narendra Modi on his election victory yesterday and invited him to the White House, even though he was barred from the country less than 10 years ago over massacres of Muslims.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies swept India’s elections, putting him in position to become prime minister and ousting the ruling NehruGandhi dynasty. It is a seismic political shift that gives the Hindu nationalist and his party a mandate for sweeping economic reform.
Obama told Modi by telephone that he looked forward to working closely with him to “fulfill the extraordinary promise of the U.S.-India strategic partnership,” the White House said.
“The president invited Narendra Modi to visit Washington at a mutually agreeable time to further strengthen our bilateral relationship.”
A U.S. visit could come as soon as the U.N. General Assembly in New York in September, when Modi also could visit Washington.
The administration of President George W. Bush denied Modi a visa in 2005 under a 1998 U.S. law barring entry to foreigners who have committed “particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”
In 2002, when Modi had just become Gujarat’s chief minister, more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in sectarian riots in the state.
Modi denied any wrongdoing. India’s Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that he had no case to answer.
The anti-Modi lobby in the United States has dwindled. In March, a congressional report said Modi would qualify for a visa if he became leader.
Washington sees its relationship with India as critical, partly to counterbalance China’s rising power.
The U.S.-India relationship hit its lowest ebb in a decade last year after a junior Indian diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, was arrested and strip-searched in New York. The U.S. ambassador to India resigned after the incident and has yet to be replaced.
Businessmen at a luncheon in the Indian ambassador’s residence in Washington yesterday expressed optimism about a more investor-friendly environment under Modi.