Thaindian News

Mumbai, Sep 30 (IANS) Neelima Mishra, one of this year’s Magsaysay Awards winners, was Friday denied a visa by the US consulate here but no reasons were assigned, the laureate said.

“I had applied online for the visa earlier this week and got an interview call this morning. But my visa application has been rejected without assigning any reasons,” Mishra told IANS.

“We are not in a position to comment on individual visa application cases,” a consulate official said.

Mishra said she was invited by the Chicago-based India Development Coalition of America to deliver the keynote address at its convention next month.

“I had planned to leave here Oct 12 for the function scheduled Oct 15 and 16, and planned my return Oct 19. Now, my tour programme has to be cancelled,” she said.

US officials have given Mishra the option to resubmit her application, an aide, Vinod Sonar said, adding that Mishra is now not interested.

Mishra had gone to the Philippines last month to receive the Magsaysay Award for social work.

The US visa application noted social worker Prakash Amte, the son of legendary rughts activist Baba Amte, had been rejected in 2007.

“The grounds cited for me were that I am economically backward and hence not eligible to support myself in the US, so the visa was rejected,” Amte, who was conferred a Magsaysay Award in 2009, told IANS Friday.

“Following a media uproar, I was granted the US visa within 24 hours, and it was sent to my home,” Amte said.