NEW DELHI, 22 March 2005 — The United States reaffirmed its decision yesterday to revoke the visa of the leader of India’s Gujarat state, despite strong protests by New Delhi and the Hindu right against the move.

Washington’s decision last week to revoke Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s tourist/business visa and refuse him a diplomatic permit sparked a storm of protest from right-wing groups, forcing the federal government — headed by the centrist Congress party — to press the US State Department to reconsider its decision. Modi, a member of the main opposition Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was accused of turning a blind eye to the widespread killing of Muslims in Gujarat during riots in 2002.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose Congress party has been a strong critic of Modi, called the US move insensitive.

But the US State Department, citing a law banning foreign officials deemed responsible for severe violation of religious freedom, has not budged from its stand despite the protests.

“Upon review, the State Department reaffirmed the original decision,” US Ambassador to India David C. Mulford said in a statement.

“It is based on the fact that as the head of the state government of Gujarat between February and May 2002, he (Modi) was responsible for the performance of the state institutions at that time.”

Reacting to Mulford’s statement, India’s Foreign Ministry said it appeared based on “selective judgment” and disregarded the fact Modi was a democratically elected leader.

Human rights groups say about 2,500 people, most of them Muslims, were hacked, beaten or burned to death in Gujarat in early 2002 after 59 Hindu activists died in a fire in a train the BJP blamed on a Muslim mob.

Last year, the Supreme Court slammed Modi for ignoring the killing of Muslims. Modi denies any wrongdoing during the riots and said the US move to cancel his visa was an “insult” to India.

The BJP was in power in New Delhi during the Gujarat riots. While in office, the party pushed for close ties with Washington, partly based on its perception that both nations were natural allies in the war against terrorism. Washington has tried to limit the diplomatic damage, saying its action was targeted at Modi and not the BJP. “The United States is deeply appreciative of the role that the BJP... played in opening the way for positive transformation of US-India relations,” Mulford said.

Modi planned to travel to America this month to meet the large Gujarati community there and deliver a speech at an Asian-American hoteliers meet.