“It’s a matter of the United States responding to a finding by the Indian National Human Rights Commission pointing to comprehensive failure on the part of the state government of Gujarat to control persistent violations of rights,” deputy US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters.

Modi has been accused by opposition and human rights groups of doing little to stop riots in Gujarat in 2002, in which up to 2,000 Muslims were killed.

The rioting was triggered after a mob, believed to be Muslim, allegedly torched a train carrying Hindu activists at Godhra, killing 59 people on February 27, 2002. A subsequent official report however said the train fire was caused by a cooking accident or cigarettes, and not Muslims.

Ereli said US officials made two determinations based on the Indian rights commission’s findings.

“Number one, we determined that an application for a diplomatic visa to come to the United States—the terms for issuing that visa under US law had not been met, and so we decided not to issue the visa, based on US law and based on findings of fact by the Indian National Commission,” he said.

“And number two, we determined that an existing visa that Mr. Modi had—an existing tourist business visa—should be revoked” in accordance with a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which states that any foreign official who is responsible for or who directly carried out particularly severe religious freedom violations should not be eligible for a visa.

“It was the Indians who investigated the riots, and it was the Indian government who determined that state institutions failed to act in a way that would prevent violence, that would prevent religious persecution,” Ereli said.

The controversial Modi was to visit Florida next week at the invitation of a Gujarati-dominated hotel owners’ association.

Earlier Friday, India condemned the United States’ refusal to allow entry to Modi, saying the step was “uncalled for.”

Foreign Minister Natwar Singh said he would take up the issue with the US embassy after it announced that Modi would not be granted a diplomatic visa since his trip did not qualify as a diplomatic visit.

“The action on part of the US embassy is uncalled for and displays lack of courtesy and sensitivity towards a constitutionally elected chief minister of a state,” India’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest US Muslim civil liberties group, applauded Washington’s decision.

“This case demonstrates what can be accomplished when Muslim, human rights and minority groups work together for a common purpose,” CAIR executive director Nihad Awad said in a statement.