With President Bush’s official India visit days away, the United States finds itself in a diplomatic uproar over the denial of a visa to an Indian chemist. The U.S. consulate in the southern city of Chennai turned down the visa application of Goverdhan Mehta, saying his expertise in chemistry was deemed a threat and asked him to provide additional information, The Washington Post reported. Mehta has denied his work was in any way connected with making chemical weapons. The scientist, who has visited the U.S. several times in the past, is president of the International Council for Science, a Paris-based group of scientific academies of several nations. He is also a director of the prestigious Indian Institute of Science and a science adviser to India’s prime minister. The U.S. scientific community is upset because it worked to get a visa for Mehta. The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi has expressed its regret over the incident and is trying to resolve the matter. Mehta, who reportedly feels humiliated, says he is ready to submit his passport if a visa is granted but do nothing more to get the document. © Copyright 2006 by United Press International

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