MPs’ letters to Obama ‘original, authentic’
The controversy over MPs’ letters to US President Barack Obama for denying visa to Gujarat CM Narendra Modi has taken a new turn with a California-based forensic document examiner certifying that the signatures of the legislators are “original and authentic” and not a cut and paste job as claimed.
“Using accepted principles and methods of forensic examination, it is my opinion that the Q1-Q3 (three pages of Rajya Sabha MPs’ letter) document was created in a single event, and that the signatures found upon it are original/authentic wet ink signatures,” said the report after a forensic examination of the letter.
A similar finding was made in respect of the letter by Lok Sabha members. The forensic examination of the handwritings on the two letters to Mr Obama by members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha on November 26 and December 5 2012 respectively, which were re-faxed to the White House on July 21, was done by Nanette M. Barto, approved forensic document examiner, in California.
The examination was prepared at the request of Coalition Against Genocide (CAG) campaigning against Mr Modi after some parliamentarians, notably CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, M.P. Achutan (CPI) and K.P. Ramalingam (DMK) denied having signed the letter to Mr Obama.
The CAG, a broad alliance of about 40 Indian-American organisations, has been campaigning against US visa for Mr Modi.
When contacted for reaction to the forensic examination report, Mr Achutan maintained that he did not remember to have appended his signature to a memorandum like this.
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