Narendra Modi to address Indian Americans via satellite
Washington: Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata party’s newly-anointed prime ministerial candidate, is all set to woo Indian in United States via satellite video ahead of the 2014 parliamentary poll.
The Gujarat Chief Minister will address the annual national convention of the US chapter of Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) at Tampa, Florida on September 21 through satellite video with his speech telecast live on “TV Asia” across US, Canada, Europe, and India.
To be inaugurated by BJP vice president Smriti Irani on September 20, the convention will be attended by over 1,000 members of the Indian American community. Modi, who has been denied a US visa since 2005 for his alleged inaction in controlling the 2002 Godhra riots, has reached out to American audiences through satellite a couple of times earlier this year too.
Declining comment on BJP naming Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, the US state department last week said that he would still have to apply for a visa like anyone else.
“There’s no change in our longstanding visa policy,” spokesperson Marie Harf said. But Modi “is welcome to apply for a visa and await a review like any other applicant”. Modi has not applied for a US visa since 2005 when he was denied a diplomatic visa and his previously granted B-1/B-2 visa was revoked.
