'No racist undertones in visa denial'
Even as he condemned the State Department decision to deny a visa to Narendra Modi [ Images ], Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi [ Images ], wondered how the Gujarat chief minister finds similarities between his situation and that of Gandhi's when he was thrown out of a train in South Africa [ Images ].
Visa denial will not impact ties: US
"It seems it is something pulled out of his (Modi's) hat. After all, the Mahatma was never denied a visa to any country," he said on Tuesday.
Arun Gandhi is the founder and chairman of the MK Gandhi Institute for Non-violence.
Modi visa: India regrets US decision
In the context of the visa denial, Modi likened his situation to that of Gandhi, who was a victim of racial discrimination in South Africa.
But Arun Gandhi said Modi's case was not an example of discrimination.
"Modi is a democratically elected official and should have been given the freedom to travel and pursue his engagement," Gandhi told rediff.com.
"But for him to say that there is a similarity with Bapuji's life is far fetched," he added.
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