Professor Goverdhan Mehta, former director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore has finally been granted an entry visa to the US. The US consulate in Chennai had earlier declined him a visa which was first reported by The Indian Express. Speaking to The Indian Express today, Mehta said: “Thank you, but no thank you. I have already cancelled my tickets and have no intention of going to the US. I am not allergic to the US and would be willing to go at a later date if there is a plan that comes up.”He hoped that in future “no other Indian scientist is subjected to such humiliation”. Mehta said that he graciously accepted the apology extended to him by Ambassador David C. Mulford, and urged him to ensure that “the visa issuance system gets reformed so that it does not offend the applicants”.A statement released by the American Embassy said “Ambassador Mulford called Professor Mehta on Thursday to notify him and express both his apologies and satisfaction that a visa would be issued immediately. It added that “processing of Professor Mehta’s visa had been suspended pending its review in Washington D.C.” Once that review was concluded, his visa was stamped today by the American Consulate in Chennai.Another scientist, Placid Rodriguez, former director of the Indira Gandhi Center of Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, who was also recently turned away without a visa, was issued an entry visa today.
