Ahmedabad : Security was tightened at the U.S. visa counter here following protests against denial of U.S. visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The state police have provided extra security to the U.S. consul’s extension counter in the premises of the Gujarat Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the heart of the city.

However, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has promised that protest programs to be held in all districts of the state would remain peaceful.

However, human rights groups and activists welcomed the U.S. move.

“It is a step in the right direction. We were asking for it for a long time,” Father Cedric Prakash of Prashant, a rights advocacy group, told Indo-Asian News Service.