Says Heads of Government eligible for A1 visas

Washington: Continuing to maintain silence on granting a visa to BJP leader Narendra Modi, US has said the heads of state and government are eligible for A1 visas and no individual automatically qualifies for an American visa.

"Heads of state and heads of government are eligible for A1 visa classification under the INA (Immigration and Nationality Act). No individual automatically qualifies for a US visa," State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters said.

"US law exempts foreign government officials, including heads of state and heads of government from certain potential inadmissibility grounds," Psaki said when asked about the possibility of issuing visa to Modi, whose party-led NDA is projected by exit polls to form the next government in India. Refusing to go into details, Psaki refrained from responding to direct questions on Modi visa issue, except for saying that the US looks forward to working with new Indian government.

"We don't talk about visa applications. We are looking forward to working with the new Indian government when they are elected. But I am not going to speculate on that given, obviously, the results haven't been announced yet," she said.

No problem with Modi: UK Labour Party

London: With exit polls pointing to BJP's victory in General Elections, Britain's opposition Labour party that was in power when a diplomatic boycott was imposed on Narendra Modi post 2002 Gujarat riots, has expressed willingness to work with him if he comes to power.

"The big expectation from India will be for it to fulfill the democratic mandate of peace and prosperity," Labour party chair Harriet Harman said.

John Spellar, the Labour MP for Warley in the West Midlands said, "India has chosen who their leader is and in the event that the exit polls are correct, then the world will work with Mr Modi, and work with him for the benefit of both stability in that part of the world but also in terms of raising the standard of living of the people of India."

An official freezing of diplomatic ties with Modi had been initiated under the Labour-led government in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots.

However, the party leadership has recently been making several overtures to reinstate ties with Modi, who if exit polls prove to be correct could take over as the new Prime Minister.