Hillary dubs Modi US visa denial episode a thing of past

Speaking to NDTV, Hillary Clinton commenting on the visa episode said:" Well I think that's in the past. I know that President Obama called Prime Minister Modi. I hope that they will have an opportunity in the near future to actually meet and sit down and end any lingering questions about that past incident."

"But of course what we all hope for is that the Prime Minister, by his actions, demonstrates unequivocally that he is the Prime Minister for all of India, every single group inside India. I think that's his intention, and then that ends whatever lingering concerns anyone had," said Hillary.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was once denied a US visa over 2002 Gujarat riots, is likely to address the US Congress in September.

California Republican Ed Royce, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, on Friday wrote to House Speaker John Boehner to invite Modi to address a joint session of the House and Senate, according to media reports.

Modi is likely to meet US President Barack Obama in September, said reports.

He will visit the US in September to attend UN General Assembly meeting.

According to reports, he will meet Obama during his visit where the two leaders will discuss bilateral relations.

However, the date for the meeting is yet to be finalized.

On May 16, Obama had made a congratulatory call to Modi for winning India’s national election and invited him to Washington to discuss Indo-U.S. ties.

The call was seen as one of the first steps that the U.S. is taking to fix ties with Modi after they soured following a visa denial to the Gujarat Chief Minister in 2005 over his alleged role in the 2002 religious riots in his state.