An official spokesman of the State government here on Saturday said the Central government should take up the matter with the German government “more seriously” and lodge a strong protest against such uncharitable remarks against an elected Chief Minister of a State.
An unofficial delegation of the German parliamentarians on a visit to India reportedly stated on Thursday that Mr. Modi was persona non-grata in the European Union countries and Germany also supported the denial of visa to Mr. Modi to visit these countries for his alleged role in the 2002 pogrom in the State. The German embassy, however, reportedly informed the External Affairs Ministry that it was an unofficial team and its views was not necessarily shared by the German government.
The official spokesman of the State government, however, remarked that such uncharitable remarks could not be taken lightly. Mr. Modi himself had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking Central intervention to get an apology from the German embassy.
The government spokesman said while the State government had been appreciative of freedom of expression, it viewed the remark as a “systematic attempt to malign the image of the State.” He said had similar incidents had taken place in any other country, “these people would have found themselves behind the bars.”
The spokesman demanded that the delegation members either apologise or issue a clarification in the case that they had been misquoted.
Mr. Modi was denied visa by the U.S. in 2005 and again last year due to his alleged role in 2002 riots.
