Finally, an American visa for this Muslim MP

New Delhi: Muslim BJP leader and former Union Minister Shahnawaz Hussain was issued a US visa on Tuesday morning, much after four other members of a parliamentary delegation got theirs.

There was a controversy over the delay in visa for Shahnawaz Hussain, with questions raised on whether his name had something to do with it. On Tuesday, BJP patriarch LK Advani discussed the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Shahnawaz Hussain, one of the few Muslim leaders in the BJP, failed to get the American visa on time to join the other members of the parliamentary delegation to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.

"I was one among the five MPs who were to attend a UN General Assembly programme from October 20 to 31. Our Ministry of External Affairs had applied for the visas. While the other four have got their visas and are leaving tonight, I have been told there will be a delay due to administrative processing," Hussain said on Monday night.

In his conversation on phone with Manmohan Singh, Advani pointed out that four other MPs had been cleared for visa, but not Hussain. Girja Vyas, Sanjay Nirupam (both Congress), Ali Anwar (JD-U) and T K S Elangovan (DMK) are the other members of this "non-official" delegation of MPs for New York.

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"I am still waiting for my visa. Since Ministry of External Affairs has applied for this visa and it's a normal diplomatic procedure, I don't understand why it should take so much time," Hussain said.

Interestingly, Hussain has visited US thrice in the past. The last visit was post-9/11 when he went there as the Union Textile Minister.

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"I have visited New York during all my three visits to the US. First when I was in the Union Coal ministry, then as the Union Civil Aviation Minister and lastly as Textile Minister," he said.

About two months ago, film star Shah Rukh Khan had to face embarrassment during a visit to the US when he was detained and questioned for hours.

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Sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that there was no problem. "The visa has been applied for, and is under process. The Ministry is in touch with the American Embassy about this," they say.