NRI Gujaratis
to pressurise Bush for Modi's US visa
Vadodara, May 18, 2006
PTI
US-based Association of Indian American of North America
(AIANA) will pressurise President George W Bush to grant
a US visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi enabling
him to attend a Gujarati conference in New Jersey.
The three-day 'Chaalo Gujarat' conference will be held at
Edison, New Jersey, from September 1 to 3, said Pranav Amin,
member of the international committee of AIANA.
The organisation has approached several senators of the
US to take up the issue of Modi's visa with the US administration,
he said, adding that the chief minister was invited as a
representative of five crore Gujaratis.
AIANS is one of the organisations that had invited Modi
to US in 2005 to address a conference. Modi, however, could
not attend the it due to cancellation of his visa on the
basis of his role during the Godhra riots in 2002.
Modi had addressed that meeting via video conference from
his residence in Gandhinagar.
The eminent personalities attending the conference include
Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Union Textle
MInister Shankarsinh Vaghela, the Ambani brothers, Irfan
Pathan, Munaf Patel and BCCI selection committee chairman
Kiran More.
About 30,000 NRI Gujaratis have been invited to attend
the conference
