WASHINGTON: A US lawmaker has asked the State Department not to grant visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of violating right to religious freedom.

"Granting a visa to Narendra Modi would be contradictory to international law and would only serve to validate the Chief Minister's abhorrent policies and actions," Congresswoman Betty McCollum wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The Democratic lawmaker from Minnesota serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State Department and Foreign Operations and the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs.

"Denying Modi a visa to enter the US not only will uphold the law but will send the important message that Modi's reprehensible statements, policies and actions are abhorrent to the laws and values of the United States," the letter dated July 3, 2008 said.