Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) lok Sabha MP Virender Singh Mast has alleged that he was asked to remove his turban for the visa picture during an interview at the US visa office in New Delhi on Thursday. The MP from Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh also alleged that the US visa office staff told him not to wear turban when in US.
The MP was scheduled to leave for America next week on invitation of US Agriculture Department. Anguished, Mast left the visa office without getting his picture taken and has now cancelled his visit. However, he is yet to bring this to the notice of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officially. When questioned about this incident, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that MEA will seek clarity on US visa norms in case the MP writes to them.
The US Embassy on Friday said that the American government does not ask people to remove turbans or religious dresses for visa photos. “The US does not discriminate on the basis of religion nor do we forbid religious dress. During the visa application process the United States Embassy in New Delhi does not ask individuals to remove turbans or other religious dress. Nor do we ask individuals to remove their turbans for photos submitted in the visa application process. Each year the US mission in India issues over a million visas for India citizens of all religions and ethnic groups to visit, work in, or study in the United States and that number has been increasing every year,” US embassy spokesperson Joseph Kruzich said.
However, the agitated BJP MP stood his ground and further added that he was not going to US on his own, but on the invitation of the US government. “I am a farmer and my turban is my pride. I cannot remove my turban and not wear it just because some government wants it that way. We farmers are self respecting people and we cannot change our lifestyle because some other country wants you to do so,” Mast told The Pioneer.