NEW DELHI: British national Lord Alexander Carlile was on Wednesday sentback from India on his arrival for not having the appropriate Indian visa,the Ministry of External Affairs said. “He didn’t have appropriate visa andthere was a discrepancy in his visa application form. We had informed himin advance that his visa is invalid,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

Kumar added that his intended activity in India was incompatible with thepurpose of his visit as mentioned in his visa application form.

“His intended activity in India was incompatible with the purpose of hisvisit as mentioned in his visa application. When he landed here, he alreadyhad a return boarding pass for a flight which was scheduled for 2 hourslater. Does a business visa constitute coming here and addressing aconference? It was, therefore, decided to deny him entry into India uponarrival,” Kumar said.

British lawmaker Lord Alexander Carlile is a legal consultant to jailedformer Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia. Carlile claimed that he wasdenied entry into India under pressure from the Bangladeshi government. Hesaid that Indian authorities gave him “no true reason” for revoking hisvisa.

Asked about the Ministry of External Affairs’ assertion that his intendedactivity in India was incompatible with the purpose of his visit asmentioned in his visa application, Carlile said it was “completely untrue”and a “lie”. He alleged that there was “intolerable political pressure”from the Bangladeshi government to try and stop him from going to India.

“The Bangladesh government called in the Acting Indian High Commissioner inDhaka and asked him to urge the Indian government to refuse me entry. TheIndian government did that and they ought to be ashamed of themselves,denying a British QC, a member of the House of Lords, entry into India,”Carlile said.

Rejecting the MEA’s assertions, the House of Lords member said he had avalid business e visa granted several days ago by the India government. “Itold them in the visa application that I was coming for meetings as alawyer and as the UK’s chairman of the Commonwealth right’s initiative.They knew perfectly well why I was coming,” he said.

He said he was coming to Delhi for two reasons — to attend a pressbriefing as a leading lawyer in the team representing Zia and to meetcolleagues in a Commonwealth body that deals with human rights. “When Iembarked for India at Heathrow airport yesterday, my visa was checkedthrough the automatic system on two occasions. When I arrived in Delhilater and switched my phone on, I was informed that my visa had beenrevoked,” Carlile said.

“The authorities at Delhi airport were very polite and helped me to returnto the UK by another flight. However, the Indian authorities have given meno true reason for revoking my visa,” he said.

He also alleged that the Bangladesh government had not allowed him to visitthe country as he was Zia’s lawyer. Carlile claimed there was “noadmissible evidence” against the former prime minister on any of thecharges brought against her.There are several cases pending against Zia, including of graft.

Her party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, claims that the cases arepolitically motivated to keep its party chief out of the national electionsscheduled for December.